Turning water into wine
Me: Why do they show us ads of someone pouring Pepsi from a bottle into a glass? Is there something new they’re trying to teach me?
Me(~7 mins later):
Welcome to the world of Sensory Marketing, a set of techniques used by marketers to create experiences that not only engage your brain but also your sense of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell to a point where your senses practically walk themselves to your wallet to buy whatever is on offer
I’m pretty alert you know, that can’t happen with me
Humans, like most other organisms, experience the environment around them through multiple sensory channels they come fitted with.
Each of these senses give off a distinct impression of what they sense. Yet, in a conscious state, we are able to maintain a unified perception of our surroundings.
Such inherent crossmodal (interactions between two or more different senses) capabilities give us significant behavioural advantages:
1. We retain object recognition skills even when deprived of a sense
2. Combining inputs from different senses enhances our detection of external stimuli and helps us react quicker
3. Since information from different senses complement each other, an integration of sensory inputs often provides information that may not be obtainable from any one sense in isolation
Now, classic mass marketing techniques revolved around the half-baked assumption that consumers only made their purchases “rationally”, i.e on the basis of price, features, etc.
To keep up with today’s constantly evolving and increasingly demanding customers, modern techniques like sensory marketing go against conventional thinking by creating experiences that leverages all five senses to influence consumers’ motivations, desires, and ultimately their buying behavior
How does this thing work?
We’ve all had to utter the phrase “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” at least once, right?
However, scientists have found, that all the beholders’ eyes are really looking for is symmetry and averageness of features in faces.
But how does that help a retailer increase sales?
The answer to that lies in what psychologists refer to as the “Halo Effect”.
Robert Cialdini explains it simply in his book Influence when he writes, “We automatically assign to good-looking individuals such favorable traits as talent, kindness, and intelligence.”
Add to that the fact that we tend to comply more with those we like (and we like beautiful people). If we like beautiful people, we also like the products they sell. Add all these up and the Calvin Klein undergarment ads start to make some sense.
Only a single billboard with David Beckham in his tighty whities is not enough to make a dent. Our brain can barely keep up with the daily deluge of information it is exposed to.
If we have to process any new information, our brain first lines it up with any existing knowledge we may have on the subject to assess it’s truth.
Even then, false information delivered to us repeatedly could lead to the conclusion that this repeated conclusion must be truthful. This is called the Illusory Truth effect
Who else knows about this?
Thinking about sensory marketing has become necessary in fields like food, cosmetics, and hospitality.
The crunch produced from the chip you eat, the lighting you get while trying that new shade of lipstick on or the homely vibe you get at the next hotel you stop at are elements companies have spent considerable time and money optimizing
For example, Hershey’s has long been aware of the tactile pleasure people get from unwrapping the foil around a Kiss which transforms an ordinary piece of chocolate into a special experience.
But many companies are taking this thinking even further.
Just when the Dunkin’ Donuts jingle played on the South Korean municipal buses, an atomizer released a coffee aroma. This campaign increased visits to Dunkin’ Donuts outlets near bus stops by 16% and sales at those outlets by 29%.
Singapore Airlines is in the sensory marketing hall of fame for its patented scent called Stefan Floridian Waters. Now a registered trademark of the airline, Stefan Floridian Waters is used in the perfume worn by flight attendants, blended into the hotel towels served before takeoff, and diffused throughout the cabins of all Singapore Airlines planes.
I wanna use this too,how can I?
The strategic goal behind using sensory marketing is simple — to show a specific group of customers how your product differs from the competition in a highly competitive market.
Such a strategy can be developed by building or tweaking details of the product itself (name,packaging,formula,etc.), the way in which it is communicated (advertising, promotions,etc.), or actions associated with the point of sale (location, merchandising, etc.)
With enough iterations of measuring and understanding your consumers’ emotions and reactions, you will come upon a sensory signature which defines your brand’s position in the customer’s mind.
An important point to note, however, is that consumers tend to subconsciously apply human-like personalities to brands, which leads to intimate and (hopefully for the brands), lasting loyalties. Most brands are considered to have either “sincere” or “exciting” personalities.
“Exciting” brands like Apple and Ferrari are perceived as daring and trend-setting which gives them space to play with tactics that surprise and engage the consumer.
On the other hand, “Sincere” brands like IBM and Mercedes Benz carry a perception of consistency and dependability. Employing these types of tactics might come in direct conflict with their perception.
This is all to say that marketers should consider each product’s strategic position in the marketplace and not fall for the common belief that such “snap, crackle, pop” will work for every product.
