The new era of marketing is upon us. The application of multisensory marketing is becoming a part of everything we do.

Engaging the senses through a multisensory experience imprints a brand and its offerings in consumers’ minds in a way that traditional ads can’t. Strategies designed to engage each of the consumer’s five senses can be a powerful tool for unlocking a deeper connection with the consumer.

The world is coming to its senses

Multisensory marketing features can be introduced by utilising the five basic senses – the same ones we learned at school. These senses are sight, smell, taste, touch and sound. Activating these senses causes emotional, behavioural and cognitive responses. The five senses all play a role in how people perceive what they see and interact with (including brands). By provoking natural reactions in your audience, you’re able to break through in new ways.

Experiential marketing: the next steps in the multisensory experience

All senses have their place, and communicators need to tap into all of their audiences’ senses to help them emotionally connect to an experience. If marketers want their stories to resonate, they must go beyond the visual.

Creating a sensory signature for every brand could unlock potential for marketers.

One way we engage all the five physical senses is through experiential marketing, a marketing strategy that directly engages consumers and invites them to participate in a brand experience.

A brand is the sum of all of the interactions a person has with it. The ads they see, the content they consume, and the shopping experience. Their combined experiences determine how they see your brand and how they feel about your brand.

Often the more sensory contact there is, the more memorable traces a brand is going to leave. Through sensory engagement, a brand is more likely to form a bond with a consumer than relying on traditional means of advertising. Sensory experiences add brand stickiness. Experiential marketing often results in brand affinity, and brand stickiness.

Multisensory marketing should be regarded at every buyer stage. These stages include brand awareness, product promotion, consideration, trial, purchase and post-purchase. The rule applies regardless of whether you’re selling a product or service, a tactile or intangible brand, or a B2C or B2B brand. Thinking about the sensory effects your brand, messaging, products and consumer experiences have on your key audiences is very important.

Enhance a customer experience

Multisensory marketing should enhance a customer’s experience, not overwhelm them.

Don’t sensory overload! Bombarding the consumer with too much can create confusion. Overwhelming scents paired with bright lights and loud noises can turn consumers away from the brand completely. That’s not the reaction you want to induce. Use your judgment (and test groups) to determine if you’re balancing the senses in an effective way. Sensory overload can have a negative effect on your brand.

Multisensory summed up

Whether you’re selling fresh bread rolls, enticing customers with comfortable pillows, or promoting your hotel, engaging all the senses is a great way to reach people in ways that are likely to stick with them for a long time. Getting ahead of the competition means advertising can no longer be about static messages or videos that only engage the eyes — it must be about all five senses.

At S.O.H Group we have multisensory solutions that can articulate different aspects of a brand over time, including the five senses and the reactions in terms of what people think, feel and do. If you’re interested in learning more about how we create memorable multisensory marketing campaigns, get in touch with us. Let’s talk about sensory experiences and how they can impact your brand.

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