Brand Sense

Currently 83% of all commercial communication appeals only to one sense – our eyes. That leaves a paltry 17% to cater for the other four senses. This is extraordinary given that 75% of our day-to-day emotions are influenced by what we smell, and the fact that there’s a 65% chance of a mood change when exposed to a positive sound.

The effects of sensory branding are astounding. Yes, it’s possible to create a truly spectacular commercial, or an impressive advertising jingle, but they begin to become effective only when the two elements are combined. The effect is magnified many times over when you include any of the other senses. So the idea of sensory branding sounds good in theory? Well, practical steps need to be taken in order to move your brand from its two dimensional world into a five-dimensional place.

There are strategies to employ so that this transition will be successful. Events, moods, feelings, and even products in our lives are continuously imprinted on our five-track sensory recorder from the second we wake to the moment we sleep. This despite the fact that most mass communication—including advertising messages—that we’re exposed on a daily basis comes to us on two of the five available tracks. They’re visual and they have sound. We are so used to it, we never give it much thought. Herein lies the anomaly. As human beings, we’re at our most effective and receptive when operating on all five tracks, yet not many advertising campaigns, communication plans, or brand-building exercises utilize much more than sight and sound to put their message across.

Many people cite the new-car smell as being one of the most gratifying aspects of purchasing a new car. The smell is as much a statement of newness as the shiny body. In fact there is no such thing as a new-car smell. It’s an artificial construct, a successful marketing ploy that taps directly into fantasy. This smell can be found in aerosol canisters on the factory floor that contain that “new-car” aroma.

As for cornflakes, Kellogg’s considers the crunchiness of the grain as having everything to do with the success of the breakfast product. Emphasis is placed on the crunch we hear and feel in our mouths rather than the sound effects we hear on commercials. Kellogg’s has spent years experimenting with the synergy between crunch and taste. As part of this research they made contact with a Danish commercial music laboratory that specializes in the exact crunchy sensation of a breakfast cereal. Kellogg’s wanted to patent their own crunch, and trademark and own it in the same way they own their recipe and logo. So the laboratory created a highly distinctive crunch uniquely designed for Kellogg’s, with only one very important difference from traditional music in commercials. The particular sound and feel of the crunch was identifiably Kellogg’s, and anyone who happened to help himself to some cornflakes from a glass bowl at a breakfast buffet would be able to be recognize those anonymous cornflakes as Kellogg’s.

The day Kellogg’s introduced their unique crunch to the market, their brand moved up the ladder. They’d expanded the perception of their brand to incorporate four senses (including touch) rather than the more limited sight and taste. So by appealing to another of our five senses they broadened their brand platform.

In fact, as far back as 1973 Singapore Airlines broke through the barriers of traditional branding with their Singapore Girl, a move that would prove so successful that in 1994 the Singapore Girl

celebrated her twenty-first birthday and became the first brand figure to be displayed at the famous Madam Tussaud’s Museum in London. Previously airlines had based their promotions on cabin design, food, comfort, and pricing—ignoring the total sensory experience they could offer. Singapore Airlines made the shift when they introduced a campaign based exclusively on the emotional experience of air travel.

With a brand platform emphasizing smoothness and relaxation, their strategy was to move away from portraying themselves simply as an airline and instead to present themselves as an entertainment company. In the process, a new set of brand tools were invented and introduced. The staff uniforms were made from the finest silk in a fabric design based on the patterns in the cabin décor. The staff was styled right down to their makeup. Flight attendants were offered only two choices of color combination based on a palette designed to blend with Singapore Airlines’ brand color scheme.

The sensory branding of the Singapore Girl reached its zenith by the end of the 1990s, when Singapore Airlines introduced Stefan Floridian Waters. Not your average household name, to be sure, Stefan Floridian Waters is an aroma that has been specifically designed as part of the Singapore Airlines experience. Stefan Floridian Waters formed the scent in the flight attendants’ perfume, was blended into the hot towels served before takeoff, and generally permeated the entire fleet of Singapore Airlines planes. The patented aroma has since become a unique trademark of Singapore Airlines.

By the end of the 1990s Daimler Chrysler established an entirely new department within the company. This was not to design, build, or even market cars. Its job was solely to work on the sound of their car doors. That’s it. With a team of ten engineers allocated to the task, their only role was to analyze and then create the perfect sound of an opening and closing door.

Brand communication has reached a new frontier. In order to successfully conquer future horizons, brands will have to find ways to break the 2-D impasse and appeal to the three neglected senses. Superb picture quality won’t do it. Rather we should look to embrace all five senses in order to create a foundation for future brand strategies.

Courtesy: Lindstrom_Brand: Brand Sense