NEW YORK – The sense of smell is one of our strongest senses, strongly associated with memories and associations, both positive and negative. So it makes sense that marketers are now using scent marketing as a way to increase sales, according to a recent article in Ad Age.

While the roots for scent marketing lie in odor control, industries as varied as retail, hospitality, auto dealers and financial services are now looking to scent as a way to better define their brands, writes Ad Age. The article cites a 2013 study by the Global Journal of Commerce and Management Perspective, finding that ambient scent has the strongest impact when it comes to enhancing consumer behavior in terms of emotion, evaluation, willingness to return to a store and purchase intention.

According to the article, ScentWorld, a global nonprofit organization, estimates that the scent-marketing industry is growing at an annual rate of 15%, with revenue of about $300 million worldwide.

For marketers, it's possible to work with scent companies to attach brand attributes and adjectives to certain fragrance notes like citrus, vanilla or floral, for example, allowing a company to define itself globally on a subconscious level.