“Honey you smell like a Wendy’s jalapeno burger!”

I took that as a vote she liked the testosterone bouquet I was throwing her way. I just got back from the gym, so the acknowledgement was a sign I earned the right to eat one at least. My wife informed me that she did not intend it as a complement. It was her kind way of telling me I needed a shower, fast!

I have always heard that Las Vegas pumps in the right smell to keep you alert, happy and foolish. Not sure if it is an urban legend spun by losers at the craps tables or the truth. I do know this. Women are bloodhounds when it comes to nasal perception. I remember going to the movies with my wife when she caught a whiff of some 1988 mojo musk. She made me believe that time travel was actually possible! The detail behind the décor, sounds, fashion and cool hair styles was incredibly created by some strange emanation from a movie theater lobby. She even remembered, “Forever Young” by Alphaville was playing in the background. I have always thought that my wife had an extra nose DNA strand or two. I found out from my gym loving brethren, I am not alone. Hollywood seems to agree. It is always the woman featured as the CSI nose detective putting the aromatic clues together to hang her husband.

We are not marketing women hard enough through the nose! The reason women have so many choices in perfume versus men is not about more disposable income, they have finely tuned honkers. Like wearing the same dress to a party, they actually get miffed if another woman has her scent. I don’t think a guy could pick out his own cologne in a police lineup.

What about trademarking a scent for a retail franchise, car dealer or sports equipment? Yep, you can do it, but the key is specificity.

Until recently, the vast majority of countries only allowed the registration of marks that could be perceived visually. Today in the United States and the EU, marks could be the subject of protection providing they have a “distinctive character” regardless of the class you are registering the scent for. A good example a scent that won EU trademark protection was the smell of freshly cut grass. The smell was registered by a Dutch perfume company that uses it to give tennis balls their aroma. The key is that the product shape, sound, scent, color or other device must serve to identify a product as coming from a particular source.

It will take awhile for marketers to realize the nose can also be a protected infringement zone. With names, words, songs, colors getting snapped up, it is really tricky to make it through life without some trademark litigation if you want to create something in this world. I think scent is the last great bastion of marketing without the threat of trademark litigation around every corner.

Are you missing a memorable hook that can make a woman recall a 20 year memory with just one sniff? Why not create a nasal strategy to complement your audio and visual marketing? What should your business smell like? If the MGM lion roar and the Yahoo yodel are distinctive enough to trademark, I am sure you can come up with a smell that will be remarkable. Meanwhile, I will be trying to figure out how to get the smell of the ocean to waft your way each time you log onto the Whale! Surf the web by smell? Yikes!