The state of Michigan hopes its scents will bring people to visit

The people who market the state of Michigan want people to know what the state has to offer, smell-wise.

Pure Michigan, the state’s tourism campaign, made a room and body spray from the scents of a Michigan summer.

“We have a lot of lavender, you get an opportunity to go to the beach, there’s a lot of wineries offered,” said fragrance developer Tanya Thompson, founder of The Aroma Labs, a Michigan-based chain of stores where people can design their own scents.

“Scent in a sophisticated way impacts your prefrontal cortex. There’s actually an olfactory bulb in there that it [connects to] mood, memory, emotion,” Thompson said.

The sprays sell for $32 online. The product line started with summer but a fall scent, “HARVEST” and winter one, “FIRST SNOW,” are planned for later in the year.

“We really wanted it to replicate the air of a freshwater coastline, being on a summer beach day, being in the wineries,” Pure Michigan vice president Kelly Wolgamott said. “Just that fresh feeling that you have when you travel in pure Michigan in the summer.”

States have long competed for tourists with ad campaigns and catchy slogans, from the classic, “Virginia is for Lovers,” to the attention-getting “Nebraska. Honestly, It’s not for everyone.”

Pure Michigan says it has a $15 million program with local partners for marketing this tourism season. As part of that, it turned the scent into a scratch and sniff panel and published it in various travel magazines.

The fragrances are supposed to pitch Michigan as a spot for slow, mindful travel.

Trying out the scent with visitors at a beachy tourist destination

The tourism office is suggesting travel spots to go along with the scents. One is the beach on Belle Isle, an island in the river between Detroit and Canada. NPR got some of the fragrance samples from the state to try out there.

On a sunny evening with kids chasing seagulls and the haze of Canadian wildfires blurring the city skyline, there was a little skepticism at first like from beachgoer Joanne Adams

“Total cynic. I don’t see how a scent is going to bring anybody that doesn’t want to come anyway,” Adams said.

But others thought it matched the vibe.

Sunrazalay DeSano was part of a group that was laying in the sun when he tried it out.

“I wouldn’t say it smells expensive, but it smells welcoming, if that makes sense. It’s like, ‘Hey, come on, be around here. But it’s not so boisterous,” he said.

In the shade with her book, Lakeia Smith liked it too.

“I say this smells better than a Michigan smell. But if we can get Michigan to smell like this, that’ll be beautiful,” Smith said.

“Pure Michigan” is part of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which is a financial supporter of NPR.

Colin Jackson covers state government for the Michigan Public Radio Network.