Anyone here miss the smell of a New York slice from Sbarro Pizza? Or maybe Cinnabon?
That association was with me the other day as I took a shortcut through a local mall that’s now pretty much a ghost town. Targeted for partial demolition after its recent sale, it was a bustling place only a few years ago. From the food court to Bath & Body Works to the beauty department counters at Macy’s, scent was a big part of brand marketing as so many shoppers discovered during back-to-school and holiday seasons, or just plain old rainy Tuesday afternoons.
Our sense of smell can trigger powerful emotions, such as memories, or creativity. In direct mail, scent plays a big role in creating – or enhancing – customer experience when a consumer receives a marketing piece. Here’s one example.
I got a folded self-mailer from Yankee Candle recently that promoted the five new scents in its new “Hello, Italy” collection. Two of them could be activated right there on the mail piece with a “SMELL IT NOW” tagline.
Maybe it was the power of suggestion but the aspirational callout “fresh lemon vibes in the Sicilian sun” for the Lemon Gelato candle seemed pretty spot-on … not that I’ve been to Sicily. It was well worth buying at their nearby store on a dreary mid-winter day.
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