It smells like marketing

Of all the human senses, smell has the most direct pathway to the emotional center of the brain.

We see changes in the printing industry often – from paper to technology and processes … The industry is set on keeping us on our toes. And now, on our nose…

We recently received a holiday mailing from Think Patented, one of our long-time printing partners, that included scent.

So, we had a few questions. And Rich Baker, our senior sales representative, was happy to oblige:

Q. What did you use?
A. Gingerbread scented Rub’nSmell.

Q. How’d you do it?
A. There were a couple of steps that helped make sure everything went smooth. We printed four color process + PMS 187 + flood of wax free gloss aqueous on 100# Gloss Coated Cover. Coated stock is recommended – gloss, dull, silk, matte or anything coated would be fine. We let the inks and aqueous cure for two days before applying the scented varnish, as recommended. We ran the scent as a separate pass.

Q. If I used this in a magazine, would it smell-up my publication?
A. No, it won’t. The scent releases when it’s rubbed and remains dormant until then. And, ads scented with Rub’nSmell can be rubbed multiple times (so it won’t lose scent or strength as it’s passed-along).The scent lasts for years in printed form.

Q. Can you see it?
A. Rub’nSmell is transparent and non-obtrusive. You can apply it over graphics without issue.

Q. Is it pricey?
A. It’s priced at about $400 per pound and you can cover about 200,000 square inches per pound. So, it depends on your application. Because it’s printed as a fifth color, it can be less expensive than traditional scented inserts (like perfume samples).

Q. What was the response?
A. Good. People loved the concept and were surprised at how strongly it smelled.

So, while we’re still waiting for smell-a-vision to become a reality, we can tide the cravings with scent-vertising.