In an era in which any cook with an internet connection has access to more recipes than could be used in a lifetime, there is still something deeply satisfying about an old-fashioned recipe card.
They’re tangible, they’re nostalgic and, with a drip of spaghetti sauce or a splash of olive oil, they carry a multisensory record of family history and good times. It’s little wonder that, as the Associated Press reported recently, recipe cards are becoming a collector’s item.
While it’s convenient to have 300 different ways to make a pecan pie – Google’s most searched for recipe in 2018 – there is something about a recipe card that taps deep into our psyches, stirring up memories of Sunday dinners at Grandma’s house or holidays spent surrounded by our favorite people.
A Recipe for Consumer Engagement
Marketers who tap into the power of multisensory special effects like texture, scent and chromic inks are already at a big advantage when it comes to getting the attention of consumers in a crowded market place. Throw in a recipe card and you’ve got, well, a recipe for can’t miss.
From holiday greetings with scented recipe cards for hot chocolate or fresh-baked cookies to a premium vodka brand that uses raspberry-scented cocktail recipe cards to promote it’s raspberry-flavored vodka, food and beverage marketers are all-in on the recipe card trend. With a little imagination, you can be too.
Scent is a powerful influence on our behavior. It taps into our memories and our sense of connection. Studies have shown that people exposed to smells of roasting coffee and baking cookies were more enthusiastic about helping a stranger.This is What ROI Smells Like
When a recipe card is combined with an appealing scent, you’ve got a recipe for ROI.
Research has shown that special-effects printing like the scented cocktail recipe card can increase sales by an average of 15% to 20%.
The heightened sense of value created by special effects printing draws consumers to engage with a product, almost like opening a present. Customers who see, feel and smell your message are more likely to remember it.
The Scent Experts
At H&H Graphics, our R&D Department is ready to help you create your next multisensory campaign. Give us a call and learn why our work was an Ad Age magazine “editor’s pick” and shows up on the packaging of internationally-recognized food, beverage and cosmetic brands.
We have more than 100 stock scents available including root beer, cotton candy, bubble gum, green apple, peppermint, cherry, suntan lotion, tulip, daffodil and more. We can also create custom scents to align with wherever your imagination can take you. At H&H, the only thing we don’t do is ordinary.
