Sensory marketing is, as it sounds, the art of forging brand/customer relationships using the senses. In the '60s, a neuroscientist called Paul D. Mclean proposed the model of the triune brain and it aimed to explain certain human behaviors, from the rational to the instinctive.
The triune brain has many applications, understanding the science behind it, making it possible to develop new ways in which brands relate to their customers. Sensory marketing is one of these ways.
People don't like it when brands attempt to sell them things directly, they like to believe that finding a product or service and using it is their choice. Nowadays, the products or services we use are rarely our choices.
Brands have been using sensory marketing for years to appeal to the mammal brain or limbic system which handles emotions, memories, habits, and attachments.
Talking to the limbic system has a very clear purpose, to embed the brand deep in our "hearts" to create feelings around it, to create an attachment that makes us keep coming back to said brand.
There are many forms of sensory marketing, designed to attract each of the five senses. Carefully chosen colors, lighting, graphics, or videos are a treat for our sight.
Fun and memorable jingles were very popular in the '90s and they associate sounds with the brands, so whenever people listened to them they would think of the company, thus engaging hearing.
Tactile stimuli are everywhere, from textures in the packaging of things to every smartphone in the world. Do you think it is coincidence smartphones are tactile? Do you remember serious addictions to electronic devices fifteen years ago? Exactly.
Signature flavors are also a thing, they are designed to be exclusive to their brand so you can't find it anywhere else. This is a way of building loyalty from customers through the sense of taste.
Finally the sense of smell. I intentionally wanted to finish this article with this sense because it is the one with the most profound effect on the brain. The sense of smell is directly connected to the limbic system.
This means that if you associate a smell to an object or experience it will be engraved lastingly in the memory. Scent marketing is a clear example, as we will learn in upcoming articles, it is a game-changer for brands.
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