In a previous blog post I shared that there is a treasure trove of great material housed on the 4imprint site under the category “Blue Papers” [you find them at the bottom of the landing page]. Today I want to crack open the Blue Paper which discusses Sensory Marketing. So let me highlight a few of the Blue Paper’s points and then you can go over to the site and download your own copy.
The definition of sensory marketing from the report:
Sensory branding is based on the idea that we are most likely to form, retain and revisit memory when all five senses are engaged. By going beyond the traditional marketing media of sight and (sometimes) sound, brands can establish a stronger and longer-lasting emotional connection with consumers.
In studies, groups exposed to multi-sensory environments always outperform those in uni-sensory environments. Their recall is better all around—in quantity of information retained, clarity and duration. What’s more, sensory information can affect consumer habits, such as restaurant turnover or purchasing. Marketers are taking heed.
Sound
Sound, for example, has the power to impact our mood and sway our buying habits. Researchers have found that the pace of background music affects customer perceptions of wait time, spending and turnover in stores and restaurants.
Fast music decreases spending in a retail environment, but increases turnover in restaurants. For restaurants more concerned with increasing the spend-per-customer ratio, slower music creates longer dining times, leading to a 29 percent increase in the average bill according to one experiment.
Touch
Our hands are an important link between our brains and the world. In fact, as humans we have more tactile receptors in our little fingers alone than we do on our entire back. These receptors help us explore objects in our surroundings. When we encounter a pleasant touch, the brain releases a hormone called oxytocin, leading to feelings of well-being and calm.
In research terms, this sense of touch is referred to as our haptic sense. Researchers have found that shoppers who touch a product are more likely to purchase, even as it relates to impulse buys. They’ve also found, logically, that the ability to touch a product increases our confidence in the item’s quality.
Scent
Smells stimulate certain areas of the brain responsible for creating emotions and memories. The human nose can identify and recall as many as 10,000 scents and as much as 75 percent of our emotions are generated by what we smell.
Out of all the senses, smell is the only one with a direct link to the brain. As Dr. John Medina explains in his bestseller Brain Rules, “Every other sensory system must send a signal to the thalamus and ask permission to connect to the rest of the brain … Smell
signals bypass the thalamus and go right to their brainy destinations.”Moreover, these smells instantly trigger messages in the limbic system, the part of the brain that contains keys to emotion, lust, perception and imagination. As C. Russell Brumfield, author of Whiff! writes, “The result is immediate: When we smell, we feel.”
The 12 page Blue Paper concludes with this remark:
All in all, the senses influence our emotions and decision-making. Touch, smell, taste, sound, and the look of a product all play an important role in our perceptions, attitudes and consumption of a product. Understanding those roles provides a valuable advantage in today’s marketplace.
Now I am curious, how have you been using sensory marketing in your exhibits? I would be very pleased to share your success stories on this blog!
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