Sensory branding

and yes, we are talking about your brand!

Usually during, and especially after we design a brand logo
we start discussing about the brand’s...

Look & Feel

Here I will go a bit further and try to explain
why is look & feel turning more and more into

Experience & Feel

You might wonder what is so special about experience
and why, so let’s start in the past century.

What was
consumption
back in

1990s

What was Is a way
consumption of life
back in in

1990s 2000s

From that
decision – making
active buyers
we turned into...

Emotional, hedonistic,
well–being oriented buyers
that spend their days
in a quest for things
that fit best their
individual needs, feelings
and emotions.

According to that...

Most successful brands
today are those that deliver
feelings & emotions.

So how does a brand
deliver emotions?

We comprehend everything
around us through our senses.

They are directly linked to the
limbic part of the brain that is
responsible for our...

memories



memories


feelings

memories


feelings

pleasures

memories


and limbic part of the brain that is
feelings

pleasures

emotions memories


and limbic part of the brain that is
feelings

pleasures

From the day we were born
we use our senses to learn
about things.

We learn through experience, and that information
is the starting point for every branding strategy
that focuses on our senses.

This way of branding is called sensory branding.

Sensory branding
...lies on the premise that if a brand provides
all of our senses with certain stimulus,
we will experience our brand more profoundly,
and connect with it on a deeper emotional level...

*Martin Lindstrom, “Brand Sense”

Brand
...
therefore a strong
brand-customer
relationship
will be built.

What now
you might wonder?
Let’s see the connection between
senses and brands so far.

Look at that
brand!
Well, ever since advertising was born, it was oriented
on our sight, mainly because that sense is most
responsive to the environment.

92.6%
of the population puts
most importance
on visual factors such as
color and shape when
buying products.

*Marketing Research / Seoul International Colour Expo / 2004

Sense of touch
was second most
important with

5.6%
while hearing
and smell each drew

0.9%

Marketing Research / Seoul International Colour Expo / 2004

We make our first impressions
within 90 seconds of the initial
viewing, and between

62-90%
of that impression is based
on color alone.

80%
When talking about
on-shelf visibility, this is
how much color can
increase brand recognition.

42%
According to research,
ads in color are read more
than the same ads in black
and white.

Market researchers have also
determined that color affects
shopping habits.

Impulse
shoppers
respond best to red-orange,
black and royal blue

Impulse Traditional
shoppers shoppers
respond best to red-orange, respond best to pastels;
black and royal blue pink, rose and sky blue

Impulse Traditional
shoppers shoppers
respond best to red-orange, respond best to pastels;
black and royal blue pink, rose and sky blue

Budgetsavy
shoppers
respond best to pink, teal,
light blue and navy

With our sight we notice and
recognize shapes and colors really fast,
but we can not experience a brand
only by looking at it, at least not
at its full potential.

That is why sensory branding
involves all of our senses.

You don’t want your brand just
to be noticed, you want it to
be experienced and remembered.

So let’s forget about
the first impression
of the looks and focus on
full sensory experience.

The power of hearing

Let’s start with our hearing, which was
highly appreciated back in the days when
TV and Radio jingles rocked the world.

Human-beings are
naturally sensitive
to sounds and
their meanings.

The first sound we
could hear was
our mother’s heartbeat.

What is so great about sound
is that it doesn’t need our full
attention to be noticed.

And also it has been proven
that sound evokes
certain memories and
experiences.

Experiments conducted in restaurants show
that when music slower than rythm of a heartbeat
is played, we can eat more.

-24%

The revenue from the slot machines in Las Vegas fell by 24 percent
when the whirring and tinkling sounds were removed.

Audio branding

is a new branche that relates only
to sensory branding
through sounds.

Sound designers are developing audio identities
for your brand and that involves:

audio logo
brand theme
soundscape
brand voice

Sound of
a steady a piano
heartbeat

Sound of
a steady a piano a breath
heartbeat

were chosen as most convenient sounds for an AUDI audio branding.
You might wonder why now, but in the close future, you might even think
of an AUDI automobile when you hear a heartbeat.

Mercedes Benz formed a team to get the most appealing sound
for a closing car door.

Ford digitized the Bullitt movie soundtrack and tuned the Mustang’s exhaust
system to precisely match that of the sound of the iconic McQueen’s machine
(‘68 Mustang) as heard in the film.

The power of our
sense of smell

1 Drop of perfume is enough to be
noticed in three room apartment

75% Of our emotions is generated
by what we smell.

80% Of what we taste is actually due
to our sense of smell.

Humans are able to
distinguish over

10,000 ...that are being
transmitted to
our olfactory
different odor system in the
molecules... brain...

....where it is
closely tied to
memory, mood,
stress and
concentration.

Our sense of smell has been proven
as most impressionable and
responsive of our five senses,
while it invokes memories and appeals
directly to feelings without being
filtered and analysed by the brain
(as our other senses work).

Smell was used a lot in real estate business, somehow houses sold better
if they smelled like vanilla, fresh baked cookies or popcorn
(evoking memories of early childhood).

+45%

In a Las Vegas casino, the amount of money gambled in a slot machine
increased by over 45% when the site was odorised with a pleasant aroma.

Mahagony motor
wood oil

mahagony motor and the
wood oil smell of
leather

...were used and combined to recreate the unique smell of the
1965 Silver Cloud Rolls Royce interior.

Now every Rolls Royce leaving the factory is equipped with a diffuser in the underside
of the car’s seat to convey this unique luxurius identity of the brand.

Starbucks is one of the companies that is well aware
of the power of sensory branding.

Through their characteristic cozy interiors, nice barristas
and of course the smell and taste of fresh grinded coffee
they occupy all of our senses.

They even stopped serving breakfasts because the smell of the eggs
interfered with the smell of the fresh grinded coffee.

bitter

People can sense
5 basic tastes sour
sweet

umami
salty (savory, or meaty)

For all other flavour tastes we must thank to our sense of smell,
for that is the one that gives flavor to our food.

We can say that taste is the sense
that fuses all different senses together
to create a holistic brand experience,
but is also linked to emotional states,
so it can alter mood and
brand perception.

Most famous campaign that included taste was the one made for the launch
of Škoda Fabia in 2007 in London. It cost more than a real car ($800,000).

Idea was to advertise it as tasty, so they decided to bake
a life-sized cake that looked like Škoda.
They hired the best chocolatiers, bakers and bricklayers to construct
and bake the car, and filmed the whole process.

According to Škoda, in the first week of the campaign,
the visits to car dealerships went up by 160 percent .

Our skin has more than

4,000,000
sensory receptors
that can be easily manipulated
through materials, weight, softness
and comfort of the product.

Haptics
refers to the sense of touch
(comes from the Greek word haptikos
that means “I fasten onto, I touch”).

Today haptics is mostly considered as a tactile feedback technology
which takes advantage of the sense of touch
by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user
(we can see examples in user-inteface design and product design)

Haptics also plays a great role when it comes to packaging design,
or even in some advertising campaigns.

Imagine your Orangina in a square like bottle?
Somehow it doesn’t seem right.
Packaging - and by that I mean form, material, size, weight - can give
a huge impact on our brand awareness.

It is a perfect way
for getting close
to consumer’s
unconsciousness,
their perceptions,
feelings and tastes.

Some great examples can be found is the work of
conceptual designers, architects and enthusiasts.

Here are some great examples of juice packaging,
and plate coasters.

In the end I bring you some great examples
of successful brands that used
sensory branding

to it’s fullest

First example is Singapore Airlines.
Back in the days they wanted to brand themselves
as an entertainment company...

...so they implemented a completely new set of branding tools:
only the finest silk and colors were chosen for the staff uniform, as well as
the make up for the fly attendants that consisted of brand color scheme.

Today widely known as Singapore girls, their flight attendants are
representatives of the “Asian beauty archetype”, and are obliged to take courses
in order to learn about the way they should speak
to passengers and serve food in the cabin.

The Singapore Girl became so iconic that she (one of the flight attendants served
as a model) was implemented in Madame Tussaud’s Museum in London
back in 1994 as the first commercial figure ever.

The company is also known for its signature scent, called Stefan Floridian waters.
It is being used by the crew and it is also blended into the hot towels
that are being served to passengers.
Described as smooth, exotic and feminine, today it is a unique and distinctive
trademark of Singapore Airlines, capable of conveying a set of memories all linked
to comfort, sophistication and sensuality.

Other great example is Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
Here I will mention three very special ones;
Westin, W hotels and Le Meridien, each with highly
implemented sensory branding.

Westin hotels are widely known for their carefully
decorated interiors, lightning, sounds
and even specific plants.

They have a special fragrance of white tea that spreads
through the hotel’s lobby, rooms, towels and linen.

For their smoking-free hotels & resorts they even hired famous jewellery
designer to create a talisman necklace to give a tangible experience
to customers that quit smoking.

W Hotel is known as design hotel. Interior colors, lightning and music differ
from room to room, from hotel to hotel, depending on the city where the hotel
is situated. They also have a specific brand language that uses special terms to
describe seemingly ordinary things (pool - wet, restrooms -wc, elevator - lift).

Apart from great design, W also promotes high quality music, dj-s
and organizes events, aiming towards younger population.
Staying at W’s is a lifestyle of its own.

Le Meridien hotel branded itself as a hotel that promotes
culture of the country or the city it is situated in.

For example the first thing you smell when you enter the lobby of Le Meridien
in India is a peculiar scent of old books and parchment in a library.
As the customer steps into the lift, specially designed music starts to play
(24-hour soundtrack composed in a colaboration
with 20 musicians around the globe).

Every room has a specific interior and the room key cards are customised - each
card contains different work of art specific for that country or town.

They also introduced LM100, a group of cultural innovators of mixed
generations and interdisciplinary artistic fields, chosen from the fields of art,
architecture, cuisine, and design by Le Méridien’s Cultural Curator.
The aim is to develop original and interactive programs for Le Méridien hotels
worldwide that will transform the guest experience.

Helm Bank, situated in Colombia, is the first multisensory bank
that went through complete sensory branding process,
including interior decorations.

Color and imagery were combined to create an “ownable visual
signature”, while texture and form were used to create an
appropriate sense of tactile quality, comfort and warmth.

Soundscapes were developed to subconsciously affect customer
behaviour. Low density, low tempo, natural and synthesized sound
was utilised to create comfort and encourage browsing.
Higher tempo sound was used to encourage speed and movement
in transient branch zones.

Signature fragrances were created and deployed in key branch
locations through the air conditioning system. In addition,
branded confectionary (candies of tropical taste, water) was
developed to encourage staff engagement with customers.

The future branch concept utilised multi-sensory design as a tool
to support the segmentation of space, creating two distinct zones.

For existing Helm customers, designers created a comfortable
lounge environment where clients are able to browse products,
with an emphasis on encouraging consultation.
Private seated teller positions are used to encourage relationship
building and cross-selling.

For the non-customer zone, the designers created a faster space
with a direct style of communication to encourage the notion
of speed and efficiency.

By delivering all these great examples
I wanted to show a wide range
of sensory branding possibilities.

Beside these successful sensory branding, there is a downside
to it of course. You might not like the perfume some brand
launched, same goes with music and taste,
but imagine the effect if you do like it?

Sure, there are pros and cons to sensory branding,
but that is the beauty of branding business overall,
you never know if your brand will stand out in the market,
or simply drown in the mass.

Important thing is to be aware that our senses are the ones
that are deciding for us when it comes to choosing your
favourite brand.

So next time you start working on your brand
simply ask yourself:

What is the shape / color of my brand?


How does my brand sound like?



What does it taste like?




How does it smell?




How does it smell?

How does it feel on my skin?

Let your senses
lead the way
to your brand’s
experience.

Image sources:

Shutterstock
Dreamstime
Google

More info on:

Sensory branding:
http://www.brandsense.com/

Hearing:
www.audity-agentur.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0NbxhybkLs
www.soundsnap.com/node/22782

Taste:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwBE1l6QexU&feature=player_embedded

Touch:
toildrop.com

Us:
www.024zona.hr

Sensory branding

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