New Australian Stamp Scented With Eucalyptus

This month, Australia is going to release a new postage stamp scented with eucalyptus, a native plant down under. The scent could potentially liven up the hobby of stamp collectors as well as effectively promote local agriculture to recipients of mail using the scented stamp.

The Australia Post had been planning a horticultural series, highlighting products derived from native plants including eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, bush honey and macadamia nuts when it was pitched on the scented stamp idea by a print firm named Ego. It was a natural for the Post to add the distinctive scent of eucalyptus to the planned design.

Ego used a process it calls Scentprint whereby the scent is encapsulated into tiny bubbles in a printable varnish. It is meant to be long lasting, only releasing the scent when the surface is rubbed. The company had previously used this technology to add appeal to magazine covers.

Tests were done to ensure that the gum and paper would not be adversely effected by the special varnish, and that it was completely safe for people to smell, lick and touch.

Hungry Yet?

A new study, published in the Journal of Texture Studies, has shown that merely showing pictures of food is not sufficient to produce that mouthwatering sensation that causes people to seek food. Although animals, most notably Pavlov's dogs, will salivate at the thought or anticipation of food, researchers found that the same does not hold true for humans.

When it comes to people, a picture alone is not enough to create that craving for food. The reason, according to the scientists, is that a visual representation is not real enough to convince the brain that food is imminent.

What does this mean for marketers?

If you are promoting a restaurant, catering company, grocery store or other food-related product or service, your marketing would be much more effective if you incorporate the sense of smell. There are many different ways to do this, including scented ink, scented paper, scratch 'n sniff technology and scent strips. Contact IAG to see how joining can get you the best price on scent marketing for your food products.

Scratch 'N Sniff Card Enhances TV Show

BBC in the United Kingdom has partnered with The Aroma Co. to distribute scratch 'n sniff cards to go with their new television show, Filthy Cities. The show will show viewers what it was like in European cities of the past before widespread sanitation.

Residents and visitors to these cities hundreds of years ago had to deal with rotting corpses, bedpans, sewage and a variety of other unpleasant smells. These smells can now come to life to modern viewers thanks to the scratch 'n sniff cards that BBC and the Aroma Co. will be distributing throughout local UK libraries. The cards will be available April 1st.

Billed as "smellovision" this is the first time that smell will be available to the small screen in this low-tech format. BBC is betting that the cards will spark interest in the program and that viewers will be willing to subject themselves to the noxious odors from the past.

Using Scent in Advertising - Mitsubishi Case Study