Ok, these scratch and sniff promo cards that Melissa Hennessy does for her photographers at Hennessy Represents are a great idea for standing out in a crowded marketplace:

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But, this video telling creatives to be on the lookout for cards is straight up hilarious. The combo makes this one of the best promos I’ve ever seen.

I asked Melissa for a little background on it and here’s what she had to say:

In the 6 years I’ve been an agent we’ve sent out everything from postcards to water bottles, to expensive multi-page books, etc., hoping to make the “keep” pile of creatives. What seemed to be a hit were our scratch n sniff postcards- a single image card, with no plastic sleeve, & a one inch circle that invited you to “scratch here.” So with our second print run, we thought why not put out a teaser video? It could announce the mailing date so creatives could be on the lookout, and we’ll play off of the interactive nature of the sniff/scent circle & the types of things creative receive in the mail. We’re really poking fun at ourselves, but saying we understand how much stuff is sent out. The feedback so far has been very positive & we’re glad that it’s being viewed as something purely meant in jest, with no suggestion that plants of any nature inspire creativity :-)

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39 Comments

  1. John Waters would love this. Does it come in ‘Polyester’?

  2. Thanks Melissa for sharing these. We were lucky enough to get a sneak peek prior to and we laughed…it’s nice and refreshing to see photographers pushing the envelope with traditional marketing fundamentals. THANKS Melissa and good luck with such a smart campaign. AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR MAKING US LAUGH…we all need that!

    • @Amanda & Suzanne, thank you for your kind words, we’re glad we could make you laugh:-)

      • @Melissa Hennessy,

        I was listening to a Pink Floyd record on Pandora when I watched that promo video on my laptop. Who do I invoice for scratching a hole in the screen of my MacBook Pro?

  3. Hey Rob,

    I’m always interested in seeing and hearing about new promo campaigns.

    Casey Templeton’s promo was very clever and got a lot of creative’s attention. Could you do a follow up with both of these posts in maybe 6-12 months from now? It would be great to see how effective they were and what kind of feed back they got.

    Thanks!

    -Andrew

  4. what are the scents being used?

    • @jenn,
      Hi Jenn. The scents are different on each card & relate to the photo, so the scent on the french toast for example is cinnamon.

  6. He seemed to like the 3D promo as well.

    • @Jeff Singer, He didn’t seem to look at the photos that came with the 3D glasses though :).

      • @Carey Kirkella,

        That was a high tech 3D promo… The image was embedded as a hologram IN the glasses!!!!

  7. Loved the video! Closing scene is hilarious.

  8. Maybe just sending the weed..?

  9. Hilarious! I actually laughed before I had my coffee this morning. BC (before coffee), rarely is anything EVER funny!

    Alex

  11. wow ok now that is sooo great. I want to try it out

  12. Excellent execution, Melissa! Funny video too. More applause.

    Makes me wish I was with Hennessy Reps.

  13. I’m scratching the screen and I don’t smell anything. I’ve been robbed.

  14. Love the uniqueness of the idea. The reaction from the creative to another water bottle or USB drive is funny…but that said, does this say “responsible professional” that you’d trust to deliver your next campaign imagery???
    The delivery is great, but the image? Seriously?
    Rick

  15. Too funny! I love the costco size bag of chips! just can make that any better.

  16. So clever and funny! Hmm, maybe I’ll start shooting more smelly things (although not sure anyone would appreciate the smells from the animal series I’m currently working on…)!

  19. Hahaha.
    That is awesome!
    Funny also because I watched “The Big Lebowski” last night!

  22. Very smart promotion! Love the use of a preview video for the second mailing.

    thanks for sharing!

  23. where can we get those made? just curious. great idea

  24. Sniff Sniff….I need those!! Needed the chuckle before this day started. Awesome

  25. I had to watch it twice! That was wonderful. In a world economy of just trying to “maintain” my business, that was a bit of inspiration.

  26. […] while in 2003, Visionaire reflected on scent in its own, luxurious manner. Recently photographers have also been using smell as a way of making their promos stand out, and there may be more applications to come: David P Sada has a patent for a novelty scent strip […]

  27. I’m a travel consultant – where can I get cards with a beach scene that smell like the ocean/beach/pina calada? Awesome idea!

    • The one in the promo may be good for Jamaica.. lol

  28. This was a wonderful idea. Kudo’s to Melissa and crew for putting it together.

  31. who doesn’t love a good scratch n sniff!!

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