New Car Smell of Success

The sweet smell of success. It’s a phrase we all know, but what exactly does success smell like? According to luxury Korean car dealer Han Sung, success might look like a hint of mimosa, lily, and gardenia, with refreshing notes of sandalwood and bergamot.

I strongly believe fragrance industry will have infinite achievement and development in the future.” – A Reum

The fragrance is called Passion Mystique, and is the latest signature scent produced by Prolitec for Han Sung Motors, the largest official Mercedes-Benz dealer in Korea. Fostering a unique bond between the brand and customer, this fragrance sets a new, revolutionary industry standard and creates the “new car smell of success” at Han Sung.

About Passion Mystique

After 7 months of collaboration with Prolitec’s exclusive South Korean partner, iSCENT, Han Sung Motors was thrilled to release its third signature fragrance, ‘Passion Mystique’ in May of 2021.

Using Prolitec resources, iSCENT worked with the brand to ensure the fragrance represents luxury and provides a sense of trust to Sung Motor customers.

The carefully crafted scent radiates undertones of mimosa, along with lilly and gardenia to evoke the feeling of luxurious leathers. Hints of sandalwood and bergamot were infused with chamomile to transport customers back to the dawn of German engineering in the automotive industry. These scents are tied together with a touch of jasmine to reflect the excellent service and innovation Han Sung Motor offers.

Created from 40 eco-friendly raw materials, the fragrance is expected to be incorporated in air fresheners and as gifts to Han Sung Motors' Mercedes-Benz VIP customers and the new S-Class customers.

How fragrance has added value to Han Sung Motors 

Passion Mystique was created to capture the brand and build stronger relationships with their clientele according to Ulf Ausprung, CEO of Han Sung Motors.

"I hope that the core values ​​of Han Sung Motors, such as authenticity, pioneering spirit, and trust, will be conveyed to customers' lives through the original and elegant fragrance of this Passion Mystique," Ausprung said. “We hope that we can bring joy and comfort to all our customers."

Han Sung CEO Ulf Ausprung has long known the impact of scenting in the industry. Six years ago, he announced that the dealership had found the “most effective way” to build stronger customer relationships is through scent.

“With the help of a world-class fragrance-maker we have translated the sensory experience into a great fragrance,” Ausprung said. “Our customers love it.”

Prolitec and iScent have helped the dealership develop all of their signature scents including the fragrance commemorating the dealership’s 30^th anniversary and Han Sung No.2 fragrance in 2016.  The launch of fragrance in their showrooms was met with great fanfare, receiving a write-up in The Korean Herald, South Korea’s largest English-language daily and the country’s sole member of the Asia News Network (ANN). Ausprung said that iSCENT and their dedicated team have helped car shoppers enjoy the ride before they even get to the wheel.

Scenting leader Choi A Reum, CEO and Scent Director for iSCENT in South Korea has been with Han Sung from the start of their scenting journey and has seen first-hand how scent has played a role in helping unify and keep customers happy at each Han Sung location.

“We started with one showroom by installing a scent with a concept of a relaxing space in an urban area gifting an aromachology effect,” A Reum said. “Customers visited the showroom had positive reactions over time. Since then, we have been proceeding scent marketing to all showrooms across the country for more than 2 years.”

A signature scent specifically designed for Han Sung Motor is used in every Han Sung showroom, according to A Reum. The results – scentsational.

“We could see customers stayed longer in the showroom as the scent was very pleasant, which naturally increased sales,” A Reum said.

Finding the Perfect Scent for Han Sung Motor

“It is like a curator introducing a great painting and selling it to a customer,” A Reum explained. “The idea of olfactive branding is that you can look beyond the traditional or conventional ideas and touch-points of how to talk about a brand or a product, and create more emotional engaging connections.”

As CEO and Scent Director for iSCENT, A Reum’s role is to help guide and work with clients to find scents that appropriately represent their brands. Choosing the right scent can create a memorable impression on customers for all the right reasons.

According to A Reum, the science on ambient scenting speaks for itself. Scent appeals to people’s emotions, creating a powerful connection to the brand and the environment in which it’s diffused.

“The way that works is that when you smell something, the olfactive nerve simulates the emotional cortex of your brain and it creates what I like to call these little scent emoticons, so you have scent and emotion linked together in your olfactive memory. And in your olfactive memory, these kind of little scent memories just kind of float around and they’re intimately linked together between scent and emotion, and so the next time you engage with the brand or the product, you automatically and instinctively have the same emotion that you did the first time you smelt the brand or the product.”

Raymond Matts, an exclusive fragrance designer for Prolitec ambient scenting echoed these sentiments in an interview with Korean business publication, Chosun Biz. 

“Scent is the best and most powerful way to connect,” Matts said. “When I smell something, I sometimes think of a specific place or memory, because the limbic system and cortex that controls the sense of smell are the same areas of the brain that control emotion, memory, and creativity. That's why scents have so much power.”

It’s more than just a fragrance, it’s a movement.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that scent/fragrance has become people’s one of daily necessities, present in everything from fabric softeners to hair products. As such, it is the time for brands to implement marketing strategies that approach their customers with their own personality (scent).

Scent is the most underused of our senses and yet it creates lasting memories. These memories are beautiful events in our lives where scent plays a major role. A distinguished signature scent will create a buzz, encouraging people to enjoy their surroundings, remembering the experience and talking about the brands. When done right scent can inspire customers to come back or linger longer.

For more about Prolitec, visit prolitec.com