Want to get more attention with your direct mail pieces? Now you no longer have to rely on just the visual sense to grab the all-important eyeball. I recently read an issue of Inside Direct Mail Weekly (by Crystal Uppercue of EU Services) that had some interesting insights. Here are a few tidbits:

Smell
“Scratch- n-Sniff” is so yesterday—but today’s new mail is benefiting from state-of-the art micro-capsules that can be embedded in paper for an oh-so-realistic and yummy smells each time the paper is touched. According to “Whiff! The Revolution of Scent Communication in the Information Age” by C. Russell Brumfield, scent has the power to evoke images, memories and emotions like no other sense—yet marketers generally ignore it.

However, Royal mail of the UK sent out a “chocolate letter” which generated a whopping 80% recall among 6500 recipients—and a gardening center used the same technology to imbue a mailing with a “cut grass” scent. The technology ads 10 to 20 percent to production costs, but might be well worth it, depending on your product.

Hear Ye…Hear Ye…
“Web-enabled print” ads are tiny touchables can be affixed to a magazine page, direct mail or any print vehicle. Readers touch or click on them to make something happen, such as being sent a coupon or a free sample from the advertiser. Click here for a demonstration from a top developer of the technology, SpyderLink.

Hey, Honey…Taste This!
Mailing a bulky taste sample isn’t always practical, and it’s expensive, to boot. However, according to the Australia Post, companies down under are experimenting with wafer-thin Peel ‘n Taste® technology. A flavor of a product is replicated and applied to a dissolving, edible film strip (like those used for mouthwash) packaged in tamper-resistant sachets. Check it out at: www.firstflavor.com.

Who knew that technologies like these could help us “get back in touch” with our target markets by engaging their senses in print media? While there is no doubt that the rising costs of direct mail have given many marketers pause, these new technologies could breathe new life into their use—especially if they increase returns like the chocolate letter sample. Check out the rest of Crystal’s article at Inside Direct Mail Weekly.

Have you employed any of these tactics? Would you be interested in doing so?