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The Senses

Sight

Sight has been the most used sense in the advertising world over the past century. Sight is the most prominent sense of all because eyes contain two-thirds of the sense cells in the body. Firms or brands utilize this sense in order to establish its identity and ultimately create a sight experience for an individual. We use our sense of sight to perceive contrasts or differences between many things such as big or small, light or dark or thin and thick, this helps us realize when there are certain differences or changes in a new package, new store interior or new product design. We often notice these differences and acknowledge them, reactions to changes are prevalent in physical goods, services and the service landscape.  

Design is one of the most important aspects of a product or service, it is through design that firms and brands can express personality which an individual identifies with. It has been said that design is the most potent expression of a brand’s identity, especially when an individual’s quest for personal quality of life and welfare is symbolized through different brands. Design can be used to convey if a certain brand is new and innovative such as Apple or old and retro such as the Volkswagen Beetle. Packaging is another important aspect that affects the sense of sight and tactics used to market this sense. Successful packages are those that can convey a combination of emotional and functional attributes such as numerous wine, spirits or beer bottles, which have a connecting story or myth. On a bottle of Mystery Cliffs, a French Chardonnay, a label from 1997 shows the high rocky coast of California with a lone pine standing out on a ledge. This way, the package portrays how exotic and exciting the wine is.

The sense of sight can also be used with a series of new and innovative technologies such as virtual reality. With the aid of these gadgets, firms and brands can provide customers with sensory experiences that are more immersive and would not be possible otherwise. Marriott Hotel's new 'Teleporter' is a great example: Where interested customers can use a pair of virtual reality glasses to see sights of potential travel destinations.

Sound

Sound is a sense that is often underestimated in marketing, however, along with sight it accounts for 99% of all brand communication. Sound affects our mood and psychological state, promotes peace of mind and alerts us to danger. Since the early twentieth century, sound has been applied in mass marketing, to create awareness about a firm and its products mainly in television and radio. People often express their identity through sounds. Verbally, we convey to others who we are, where we come from, our likes and dislikes, how we feel, etc. Through the use of sound we can clarify our arguments, opinions and feelings in a manner that facial expressions alone cannot. We also use identify ourselves through the use of sounds, mainly music, which is why many brands and firms spend immense amounts of time and money to associate the right song or jingle with their product and build a stronger identity. U.S retail chains such as The Gap, Eddie Bauer and Toys "R" Us invest in music programs customized for them.

A very popular form of sound marketing is through the use of jingles. In the United States jingles were used as a new way to market new products and services as early as the 1920s. In the 1940s Austen Herbert Croom-Johnson and Alan Bradley Kent developed the jingle “Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot,” which was the first network jingle. The Pepsi jingle was successfully placed in millions of jukeboxes around the United States. Jingles have traditionally been characterized by short lyrics and commercial messages. They are memorable because short sound sequences that are repeated tend to be easily remembered. Voices can also be used to create a connection between a brand and a sound. Voices are often perceived as personal, emotional and friendly which is why they are so effective for certain brands, however, a voice has to be used continuously and coherently in order to enhance the brand identity. BMW used David Suchet's voice for over 10 years to give the right feeling to its commercials.

Smell

Of all five senses, smell is believed to be linked the most to emotion due to the the brain's olfactory bulb, which detects odors, fast-tracks signals to the limbic system and then links emotion to memories. Recently, many companies have dedicated to sell scent and aromas to different brands and firms in order to enhance their marketing strategy and brand identity. There are about 20 scent-marketing companies in the world, collectively worth around $80 million, says Harald Vogt, co-founder of the Scent Marketing Institute in Scarsdale, New York. With the sense of smell being so sensitive and powerful it is not a surprise that many companies have joined the industry, after all, 75% of our emotions are generated by what we smell.

This form of sensory branding has already been used for some time, in fact, in 1990 Singapore airlines introduced Stefan Floridian Waters, a patented aroma that quickly became a unique trademark of Singapore Airlines. The distinctive aroma was blended into the flight attendants' perfume, into the hot towels served before take off and even made sure the whole plane had a hint of the smell. Travelers who took several flights on Singapore Airlines and were asked about the smell reported they instantly recognized it upon entering the aircraft, it is a smell that has the capabilities to jump-start a chain of emotions and comfortable memories, which is exactly what companies are looking for when entering this type of sensorial branding.

Taste

The sense of taste is considered to be the most intimate one because we can't taste anything from a distance. It is also believed to be the most distinctly emotional sense. Our taste is also dependent on our saliva and differs on each different person. People who prefer saltier foods are used to a higher concentration of sodium and therefore have a saltier saliva. In fact, 78% of our taste preferences are dependent on one's genes. Taste also has a social aspect attached to it, we rarely seek to enjoy food by ourselves since eating usually facilitates social interaction between people. Business meetings and home dinners are almost all of the time in company of others and companies need to take this into consideration.

A Swedish company, City Gross, made great use of this when it opened it the spring of 2007. The Swedish food retail store delivered grocery bags to households containing bread, beverages, sandwich spread and fruits. Competition in the industry is known to be very high and most retailers used low prices or coupons to attract customers. City Gross managed to reach out to customers very differently from the traditional marketing which was very impersonal, the company delivered customers with a taste of the brand and customers perceived this as something more personal and intimate.

Touch

Touch is very important in sensory branding because it strengthens the experience an individual has when interacting with a product. Tactile marketing can be used by brands to express their identity and values, however, this requires an interaction between consumer and brand and that is often hard from a distance. Tactile marketing can be facilitated by different sense expressions such as material and surface, temperature and weight and form and steadiness. Many people have a positive response to touch, which can be useful in services. During a pleasant touching experience, the hormone oxytocin is released, which leads to calmness and well-being. Firms need to be very selective of when to utilize this since it is perceived diversely across different cultures.