Why Multisensory Printing

Whether you’re creating retail packaging, promotions or a developing a unique product, multisensory printing has a proven advantage in capturing and holding consumer attention. High-quality multisensory special effects screen printing imbues your project with an entirely different level of engagement.

For retail packaging, POP displays, gift cards, book covers, direct mail, business cards, and just about anything else that can be printed, you’ll get better results when you add multisensory appeal.

That’s more than an anecdotal observation. Numerous studies have documented a direct link from sensory experiences to emotional experiences and from emotional connections to sales. Touch and smell are particularly powerful. Here’s an overview of the research.

Study: Scent Ranks Highest for Profitability

The Print Industries Market Information and Research Organization (PRIMIR) surveyed 577 print service providers, print buyers and brand managers to investigate the impact of 23 printing special effects, including glitter, gloss & matte, scents, scratch-off, glow-in-the dark, and textures printed with UV coatings and other specialty inks. The survey showed scented inks ranked highest for increasing profitability among all other value-adding printing techniques. Specialty stocks and special effects coatings (textures) were not far behind in their ability to provoke a particular feeling.

Put the Smell of Nostalgia to Work for You

The sense of smell has a direct pathway to our emotions, influencing as many as 75% of the emotions that we feel on any given day, making the use of scent in marketing a powerfully persuasive tool. As Professor Charles Spence, head of Oxford’s Crossmodal Research Laboratory explains: “The sense of smell has very strong links to emotional parts of the brain. There is also the Proust Phenomenon, which deals with how smells can take us back and remind us of things in a way that other senses just can’t do.” The phenomenon is named for French writer Marcel Proust, whose novel In Search of Lost Time describes memories unlocked by the smell of a tea-soaked Madeleine biscuit.

Bob Yirka of MedicalXpress elaborates on the ability of scent to provoke nostalgia. “Most everyone has had the occasion of breathing in an odor and suddenly finding themselves lost in the reverie of a memory from long ago; the smell of fresh baked bread perhaps bringing back mornings at Grandma’s house…”

With more than 800 stock scents and the ability to create virtually any custom scent you can dream up—see “moose poop” scratch-off maps and taco-scented wrapping paper for a whiff of our range—freshly baked bread or tea-soaked cookies barely scratches the surface of the H&H smell catalog.

Click here for even more examples of how sense of smell can stimulate engagement and product sales

Special Effects Printing & the Power of Touch

A study by Ohio State University suggests touch can also be profoundly influential in our buying decisions. Touching an item on a store shelf, the study found, can create an attachment that makes someone more willing to buy, while also increasing the price he or she is willing to pay.

While other studies have shown that many people experience a sense of ownership even before purchasing an item, the Ohio State study was the first to demonstrate that such a sense of ownership can begin in as little as 30 seconds.

Multisensory special effects that add texture or create the anticipation of a “reveal” with inks that react to heat, light or water create an irresistible incentive to touch.

Messaging that Feels Different is Different:
The Neuroscience of Texture

Textured multisensory printing can go even further by utilizing various “feels” to create associations like luxury, health, or even credibility. A recent study by a renowned neuroscientist found that subjects who read a company brochure printed on high-quality coated paper understood and retained more information than those who were given the same material on uncoated, lower-grade paper. Participants were also more likely to recommend a brand whose content was printed on the higher-quality paper and still preferred those brands more than a week later by a factor of 3:1.

Put Multisensory Appeal to Work for Your Next Project

The research is clear and at H&H Graphics, the possibilities are limitless. We can show you how to use scent, texture and chromic special effects to evoke the perfect association for your project or message. The only thing we don’t do is ordinary.

Our expertise in creating extraordinary special effects packaging, promotions and products has been incorporated into projects for many of the world’s biggest and best-known brands.

To learn what we can do for you, give us a call or click on the link below. We can also evaluate your current or recent projects as part of our “Even Better If…” Audit to show you the possibilities.