Sensory Marketing 2.0: Beyond Sight and Sound 👀🔊- Engaging Taste, Touch, and Smell

We don’t know everything about a product just by looking at the pictures and hearing the background voice. 

We desire to physically interact with it, touch it, and truly engage to understand all its intricacies. 

Imagine someone granting you permission to examine their product, allowing you to take it and test it if it suits your needs. 

BUY IT! 

This is called the Sensory marketing.

Sensory marketing

Sensory marketing aims to captivate all five senses, creating an emotional bond between consumers and their favorite brands.

Through this approach, brands establish a sentimental connection with their products, engaging customers on a deeper and more meaningful level.

2.0

Do you like scents?

But imagine trying to buy a scent just by peering through the glass at a shop, unfortunately you can’t extract sounds from scents, unless you break the bottle.

I would never do that,

This means there is more than a visual communication we need in that place.

The concept of "Beyond Sight and Sound" signifies the expansion of sensory marketing to include taste, touch, and smell experiences.

The tactile experience involves grouping senses together to produce more customer centric experiences, so that people could easily figure out their needs and wants.

Why is it matter

1.    People can recall scents with 65% accuracy after a year, while visual recall is only about 50% after three months.

2.    The human brain processes visual information up to 60,000 times faster than text. Who does like to read texts? Use images but choicy is important.

3.    A Study conducted by eBay, in which customers who were allowed to touch and feel products had a 29% higher emotional connection and was 60% more likely to purchase compared to those who didn’t physically engage with the products.

4.    Forbes says that, 75% of senior executives watch work-related videos and 59% prefer video over text.

I assume the data might gave you some idea of what's in this blog, “The Tactile Marketing”

Related#

Have you ever eat in the street shops in India? If not you should try that – the making of food is so transparent, little hygienic but not enough to celebrate your funeral tomorrow, Lol! I like street foods, because I can see what they are adding in it, I can smell it, and finally enjoy that delicious meal (fried rice)

Sensory Marketing - Types

Sound – Taste - Touch – Smell – Sight

Sound 

Each sound has its own voice and meaning, which doesn't require words to convey its message, yet it speaks volumes.

Take, for instance, the "Ding" bell on your phone for social media notifications, signalling that “it's time to check your likes, followers, and the comments”, or the alarm clock, and saying that “it's time to wake up”.

Sounds have the power to interact with our brain effortlessly, even when we are deeply engrossed in work.

A single second of hearing a song or music can transport us to a different state of mind.

Brands that are known for their ability to capture our attention understand the importance of sonic branding and audio marketing. 

They are well ahead in using sound to enhance their brand experience.

Corporate giants like Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Netflix, and Nokia incorporate sonic branding into their logos.

By combining visual elements like logos, colors, and a meaningful audio background, they create a strong connection with their audience and convey their brand's message effectively.

Netflix's sonic branding is the iconic "ta-dum" sound that plays at the beginning of their original content. It's a three-second audio that may seem funny and have no apparent meaning (from the audience's perspective)

However, an interesting discovery reveals that in the modern entertainment industry, especially with strong competitors like YouTube offering all services freely, Netflix decided to give its brand a name – a name that is conveyed without words, known as the "age of click-and-play."

Through this, Netflix says that the audience can immediately enjoy their chosen show without having to wait for long.

Taste 

Last year, during a client meeting in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, I came across a bustling street shop near the park. The place was filled with IT employees, bus drivers, and various other people, all being served by a single lady.  

I was amazed by her skills as she efficiently managed the crowd. She offered me a plate of idly with vada, and the taste was truly exceptional. 

I still fondly remember the delightful flavors of the three chutneys that accompanied the dish, and I hope to visit that place again someday.

Taste holds a significant place in our preferences, be it in foods, candies, or crunchy items. We all crave better taste experiences, and if one place doesn't provide it, we'll explore other options like McDonald's, Subway, or Starbucks.

There are numerous choices available to satisfy our taste buds, ranging from bitter, salty, sweet, sour, to umami flavours.

India's most popular street restaurants have mastered the art of marketing through their delectable offerings.

When a person visits your restaurant, offering them a sample of your product to taste can make a lasting impression.

Who knows, they may become your loyal customers in the future.

Touch 

Nobody thinks that just touching the texture of the packaging is going to change the way they look at the product. 

They believe they are making rational choices, but unconsciously those things affect decision making – Luca Cian

Many of us still love to purchase from offline stores, seeing pictures, reviews, and offers mentioned online doesn't guarantee that we will receive the same product, (I have dealt with wrong packages multiple times when shopping online)

I'm not saying that online shops are worthless; they do offer convenience and accessibility. However, in-store shopping provides a different experience altogether.

We get to see a wide array of options, try them out, and enjoy a relaxing Sunday outing

The tactile approach – Sight, Touch, Smell through that you can clearly come to the conclusion of whether the item is in good condition or not

Smell

When you walk into a store, you may notice a delightful aroma that immediately captures your attention.

The fragrance is intentionally designed to create a positive impression about the shop and its products. Much like sound, smell can vary from place to place.

In,

1.    Hospital – medications (soothing scent to calm patient nerves)

2.    Restaurants – foods

3.    Factories – chemicals

Each scent serves a purpose, influencing the atmosphere and evoking specific emotions or associations.

Sight

Sight marketing, also known as visual marketing, involves connecting with your audience through captivating visual elements like images, videos, graphics, and colors.

Social media marketers heavily rely on visual branding to create eye-catching videos that attract a large audience and gain value.

It could be in the form of a logo design, a whiteboard explaining videos, or a graphic animations explain the products use cases.

The key is to think from your target audience's perspective – what visuals would they click on and watch, and what kind of posts would they like.

It's all about using compelling visuals to engage and resonate with your audience.

This is how our senses influence our purchasing choices and also allows marketers and online advertisers to grab our attention – SENSORY MARKETING