Abstract:

The intention of this paper is to explain a new qualitative and quantitative methodology developed eight years ago and applied in different FMCG markets: detergents, fabric conditioners, and household cleansers in several West European countries, enabling better understanding of what 'represents' an existing or new fragrance/perfume to the corresponding target (the customers) and how it is 'decoded'. The added value of this approach arises from the visual representation (perceptual maps) of the fragrance decoding and the customers' expectations. This methodology and the type of results reached by this tool clearly allow marketers and perfumers to share the same grid of analysis, to use the same language and thus to better integrate the fragrance in the whole marketing strategic analysis.