June 08, 2009

How Fragrance Printing Works

By Kara Hiltz

DoubleSided: Follow Your Nose to More Sales

Most print media suffers from sensory limitations. After all, it only appeals to one of your senses: sight. However, an increasing number of publishers now offer scented advertisements. How do they achieve this feat?

Sniffing Out Fragrance Printing's Mysteries

You probably remember the old Scratch 'n Sniff dots you'd inhale as a child, viciously scraping for as much of that sweet cotton candy smell as you could possibly get. And now, as an adult, you can't ignore the heady perfume scents pouring out of most fashion magazines. So how do advertisers package that smell?

The scent comes from tiny microcapsules that companies like Scentisphere and Whiff Solutions mix into a clear varnish. These companies sell the varnish to printers, who then apply the clear coating over any print product without affecting the product's print or color quality. When you rub the area, the friction releases scented oil from the varnish's microcapsules. The scent wears off after a short time until you rub the area again to re-activate the microcapsules.

Smelling is Believing: Successful Fragrance Marketing

Scent-based advertising seems logical for products like perfumes or food, but it doesn't stop there. You can take advantage of fragrance printing to solicit a specific response from customers. And studies show that adding a little scent to your marketing can work wonders.

Whiff Solutions claims that 75% of our emotions come from what we smell. For example, Nike found that people in scented room were 84% more likely to purchase Nike sneakers than those in an odor-free room. And they were also willing to pay $10.33 more.

Even more dramatic is Mitsubishi's marketing campaign for the Lancer Evo X. Mitsubishi's ad agency, OMD, placed a fragrance ad in two major newspapers that simulated the leather smell that so many consumers associate with a brand new car. As a result, the Lancer Evo X sold out in two weeks and Mitsubishi's annual sales increased 16% in a market that averaged a 20% decline. By giving prospective buyers an interactive, scent-inducing experience, Mitsubishi caused consumers to relive the emotions attached to a new car — and saw impressive results.

While it seems that a scent varnish might easily work with personal inkjet or laser printers, no consumer solution currently exists to our knowledge (correct us in the comments if we're wrong). But maybe someday I can make my business cards smell like money

About DoubleSided
We all have our idiosyncrasies. So do printers as it turns out. In our DoubleSided feature, we explore the lighter side of printers as well as the esoteric and bizarre. We also peer into the future of printing. From fabbers to printing on toast, you'll find it all here.