Marketers Hope Smells Make You Pay Through the Nose

Nov. 15, 2006 — -- If your mailbox smells faintly of cheesecake or Jell-O, don't be surprised.

It's just part of an increased strategy by marketers to lead consumers by the nose.

In a marketing world where consumers actively avoid advertising, the industry is hoping smells will pull people back in.

This month, Kraft Foods is sponsoring a special edition of People magazine. Alongside childhood Christmas photos of stars like Justin Timberlake and David Spade, readers can take in the sights and smells of the season.

A full-page ad in the magazine for Philadelphia Cream Cheese contains a photo of strawberry cheesecake that smells like the real thing.

Other ads feature scented photos of cherry Jell-O, cinnamon-flavored coffee, and white-chocolate Chips Ahoy cookies -- all Kraft products.

Where readers may customarily flip past the dozens of magazine ads, the marketers hope the scented pitches give them reason to pay more than just passing attention.

The smells are released when readers scratch the photographs printed with scented ink.

"It is an attention-getter," said Kraft spokeswoman Renee Zahery. "We try to make it very memorable. If they see a scratch-and-sniff ad for a magical Jell-O dessert, they may want to try it."

Advertisers have long used magazines to transport pungent perfume ads with limited success. Kraft has paid close attention.

"We took great care in choosing scents that were pleasing," Zahery said.

Magazines are certainly not the first to employ this multisensory advertising.

It's a tactic that has grown with the advent of devices like pop-up blockers and TiVo that allow consumers to ignore ads.

Marketers are looking for new ways to reach consumers who avoid traditional Web and TV ads.

"With so much advertising going on with sight and sound in retail space, scent is the final frontier," said Murray Dameron, marketing manager for ScentAir, a Charlotte, N.C.-based company that designs scents for retail stores and hotels.

"You want to create a pleasant environment that makes consumers want to come back. They may not realize why, but they'll want to be there," he said.