Scent marketing has long been a fixture in hospitality and in fashion retail. Until now, olfactory marketing has remained a niche discipline dominated by specialists who develop bespoke scent identities for brands. A Samsung‑backed start‑up is now challenging this model with an AI‑powered dynamic scent solution that generates the perfect fragrance for digital signage content, music and ambience.
Deepscent: AI Turns Content Into Scent
Major digital signage providers such as Trison, Mood Media and Waapiti operate their own olfactory marketing subsidiaries. These units employ perfumers and scent experts who craft custom fragrances for clients. The scent developed for Real Madrid, for example, is designed to evoke the aroma of freshly cut stadium grass. In Inditex stores such as Zara or Massimo Dutti, as well as in the lobbies of large hotel chains, subtle signature scents reinforce the brand experience in a subconscious yet powerful way. Across all these applications, the foundation is a meticulously developed scent formula that requires time, expertise and extensive testing.
The Korean start‑up Deepscent, supported by Samsung, takes a fundamentally different approach. At CES, the company will present its new Deepscent AI Platform, which replaces human‑designed signature fragrances with dynamically generated olfactory experiences. Instead of relying on experts to craft a brand scent, the system uses artificial intelligence to create emotionally resonant fragrance compositions in real time. By analyzing multimodal inputs – images, music, mood and contextual cues – Deepscent AI produces individualized scent blends without the need for any specialized perfumery knowledge.
To enable this, Deepscent has developed a compact hardware device containing four base essences. The AI mixes these core components into endlessly varied scent profiles, producing new olfactory experiences on demand. For the digital signage industry, one function stands out in particular: Image‑to‑Scent, which automatically generates a scent that matches the visual content being displayed. A nature scene, a luxury fashion campaign or a relaxing spa moment can each be accompanied by a dynamically composed fragrance designed to enhance the emotional impact of the content.
Digital Signage meets Scent – Multisensory Digital Experiences
This approach opens the door to truly multisensory digital experiences. Retail and hospitality environments can adapt scent in sync with video, audio or interactive content, creating a more immersive atmosphere. Unlike traditional scent marketing, which depends on fixed signature fragrances, Deepscent’s AI solution allows for constant variation and contextual adaptation – tailored to the moment, the location and the content.
Deepscent positions its technology as “an AI‑powered digital scent solution tailored to every space.” If widely adopted, it could mark the beginning of a new phase for olfactory marketing: scalable, adaptive and integrated seamlessly into digital retail and DooH ecosystems. Just as light, sound and visuals have become dynamic digital tools, scent may soon follow – no longer static and expert‑driven, but flexible, data‑informed and AI‑generated.
