Scents and sensibility in subscription direct mail
Did you see this in the New York Times? Here’s the second paragraph:
Now the Royal Mail, the British postal service, which has been hit hard by the effects of the Internet, is trying to stimulate business by appealing to the senses. A new initiative, aimed at marketers who use the mail to reach potential consumers, encourages them to incorporate a scent, taste or sound in their snail mailings.
Got me to thinking. For some magazines, this idea sounds like it might make scents (right—sorry) in subscription direct mail. Certainly for Bon Appétit. Horticulture. And Rolling Stone.
Of course it’s easy to get carried away. I wouldn’t want a whiff of Sports Illustrated (well, maybe the swimsuit issue). Parenting might want to concentrate on the cooing and baby powder as opposed to the crying and the diapers. But I am eager for a taste of Money. Which O would say is the Scent of Woman.
There is a sound lesson in all of this. If you want your promotions to resonate on a deeper level, appeal to all five of a subscriber’s senses.
