Think Backward to Move Your Next Project Forward
For school children, National Backward Day is an excuse to dress funny at school, but at H&H we think it’s a great opportunity to remind you of what you can accomplish with multisensory marketing that gets your prospects thinking backward.
Scent is one of the most engaging special effects we create and one of the reasons is its ability to evoke a powerful sense of nostalgia.
You might say it takes you backward.
The Proust Phenomenon
It’s a near universal experience: a whiff of freshly-baked cookies or line-dried laundry brings back memories of home, or Grandma’s house. These odor/memory links are known as the ‘Proust Phenomenon’ in honor of French author Marcel Proust, who romanticized the smell of a madeleine biscuit among other nostalgic smells in his seven-volume novel, “In Search of Lost Time.” But the Proust Phenomenon — smells or tastes that unexpectedly unlock past recollections — is based in biology.
Unlike other sensory experiences, smells enter the brain very directly, accessing the part of our brain responsible for emotions.
Scents can trigger feelings and memories without us even realizing it. Some researchers say that our limited vocabulary for describing scents also contributes to the tendency to associate smells with memory-laden experiences. It smells like home. It smells like Christmas.
So, we have science on our side when we think backward using scented printing.
The H&H Difference: Working Backward Makes Scents
At H&H Graphics, we have decades of experience in creating multisensory marketing campaigns that take people back, so “backward day” feels like a fitting smell-abration of what we do for our clients every day.
In fact, when we take on a new client, we typically begin at the end – working backward to achieve the desired outcome. Our starting point? What is the experience our customers are trying to create for their prospects?
Naturally, we’re full of ideas when it comes to special effects that inspire feelings of nostalgia.
Here are some other effects that can be combined with scent to maximize your multisensory ROI:
- Textured inks that can reproduce the feel of a baby blanket or the dimpled texture of a basketball
- Heat, light or water-activated chromic and glow-in-the-dark coatings that reveal hidden messaging or images
- SnapShot printing that contains a hidden message –- and a social-media image that consumers will want to share — revealed by the flash of a cell phone camera
- Scratch-off inks to reveal secret messages, discount codes, sweepstakes entries or a hidden layer of information on maps, posters and puzzles
H&H Scented Printing Smells Better
Our screen-printing techniques and use of custom and high-quality scents – many derived from essential oils – means our scented printing techniques produce precise and long-lasting aromas. Unlike the stale or acrid-smelling scents added to many mass-produced and low-quality commercial products, our scents are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing.
From barbecue to birthday cake, we have over 800 stock scents to create whatever smell and effect our customers want. There’s a reason why the world’s biggest and best-known brands have used H&H for projects as innovative as taco-scented wrapping paper and “new car smell” scented advertising.
If Backward Day has you thinking about how you can incorporate a bit of nostalgia in your next multisensory print project, we’ve got a scent for that.
Take Your Prospects Back with Scented Marketing
Got some backward (or forward-thinking) ideas? Contact us to learn more about special-effects printing for your next project.
