Smellizing drives product desire

Seeing is believing. However, smelling—imagining the scent of a product—may become a new trend in effective advertising.

The desire to purchase and consume a product increases when one imagines its scent. American scientists reached this conclusion after conducting a series of tests using cookies and cakes – products that most of us enjoy smelling. "Before we started our project, we looked for print ads that encouraged consumers to imagine the product's scent. We didn't find any. We think this is because advertisers don't really think it will make a difference," says Professor Maureen Morrin of Temple University. Smellizing and illustrations Consumers' reactions to advertised foods were measured in several studies. They assessed how imagining the scent affected thirst, salivation, and actual consumption. These reactions were only enhanced when the person imagining the scent also saw a picture of the advertised product. Article Headlines and Product Consumption Print ad headlines like "Fancy a freshly baked cookie?" or "Fancy a chocolate cake?" positively influenced the willingness to consume the product when the user was also encouraged to imagine the smell. This positive effect was strongest when participants simultaneously viewed a picture and imagined the smell of the product. Olfactory processing versus processing through other senses Olfactory information processing differs from that of other senses. Although humans can distinguish thousands of odors and recognize aromas they've previously smelled quite well, they struggle to identify them in the moment. This ability improves when smelling is accompanied by a visual counterpart. This may explain why salivation, thirst (i.e., the effects of smelling), and so on, are activated in association with visual images. Smelling and imagining smells Actual smelling of advertised products is more effective than imagining their scent. However, it's not always possible to promote a product through scent. Professor Morrin's analyses may prove valuable for advertisers who haven't previously focused on the sense of smell.