Something smells at Nissan

When I read on Autoextremist that Nissan was introducing a signature scent at the Detroit Auto Sh... I'm sorry, North American International Auto Show, I thought it was a joke.

But no, a cursory Google search confirms that indeed, if all goes as planned, soon every Nissan dealership will be bathed in a trademarked fragrance called, thé vert oriental and will evoke the smell of a "Chinese spring harvest."

Awesome.

I know other marketers use scent to help sell their products. Sandwich shops bake bread on premise to help stimulate the palate. There's even an organization called the Scent Marketing Institute that will be hosting its ScentWorld conference next month in New York.

I have no problem if Nissan wants its dealerships to smell good. I just don't understand why they're telling us about it. What benefit do they get from taking the focus off the cars and shifting it to an esoteric marketing tactic that has nothing to do with the product experience? Especially since it opens them up to ridicule from critics?

Nissan needs to focus on the product, not the marketing if they want people to take them seriously.