What is Sensory Marketing?
Does the smell of the bakery in your town ever pull you right in? Or when you are shopping for a new car, do you go to the nearest car dealership so you can "feel" if it's a good fit? At the base level of both of these, it's a great example of how our five senses of sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste can lead us to make purchasing decisions.
There's no doubt that brands have been tapping into sensory marketing for years — we've all seen a fast food commercial, right?! But in 2024, we are continuing to see this in more creative ways and we don't see this losing momentum going into 2025. Learn more about what sensory marketing is, how brands are using it, and how your own brand can tap into this, too.
What Is Sensory Marketing?
Sensory marketing is, "the techniques deployed by brands that engage a potential customer through their five senses – sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste." In other words, tapping into those senses to create a subconscious appeal to their products. In fact, "95 percent of our purchase decision-making takes place in the subconscious mind." In reality, a lot of the reasons we are attracted to certain products aren't because they are calling to us on the shelf. They are strategy — from the branding (sight), to jingles (sound), product samples and demonstrations (touch), brand signature scents or the smell of a coffee shop that makes you crave another cup (smell), and of course, through tastings (taste). All of these can be examples of sensory marketing at play.
Disney: Smell
Disney is one of the brands famous for this. As you walk through their theme parks and smell chocolate or popcorn think, "That smells amazing, I want some," before jumping in line to purchase. While these scents are likely around you from other consumers, they are also piped into the park using a patented smell-emitting system, to boost your cravings for these snacks. They also do this within their rides and attractions to evoke nostalgia with scents. Another brand that has been on our radar with this is Rhode.
Rhode: Sight
Rhode, a line of skincare products from model and influencer, Hailey Baldwin Bieber was launched in 2022 and has been crazy successful in this competitive market, thanks to their effective marketing strategies. If you've seen this brand, you are likely thinking of its simplistic approach to its marketing and branding efforts, with neutrals and simple visuals. But, recently, this brand has also been taking a fun approach to its photoshoots to unlock a unique sight experience! They actually combine a few senses in their visuals to make you image the product in a different light. For many of their product they create a mood board evoking your emotions to each of the products, check out this one for example:
Costco: Taste
We know you're going to Costco for the samples...because we are, too! Sampling can boost sales by 5 to 10 times above normal. This is an example of taste sensory marketing coming to life. Costco and other stores like Trader Joes, Publix, and Walmart use sampling to have customers try products, so they can see (or taste we should say) first hand what the product is like, and hopefully make their purchasing decisions from there.
Mastercard: Sound
When you checkout using your MasterCard, when you hear the commercials, when you open the app, you might notice a familiar sound. MasterCard's jingle is notable, and could even be creating a subliminal effect on you and your purchasing habits!
T-Mobile: Touch
Technology stores are great for this type of sensory marketing. T-Mobile has a wide array of products on display that you can touch and interact with to see if it's a good fit for you. We all know that different tech products are so different, so being able to test them out and seeing if it's a good match, will in turn help us figure out what we want to buy!
The Benefits of Sensory Marketing
Sensory marketing creates an experience for your audience, which can in turn lead to brand awareness, recognition, interaction, and loyalty.
Sensory Marketing all roots back to pathos. It evokes emotion from your audience and resonates on deeper levels. Going back to our examples above, each of these brands has used sensory marketing to become a "household" brand in their industry. While consumers might not always notice these aspects of the brand, we definitely remember them. They make the audience feel as if these aren't marketing efforts, but rather a customer-focused experience built for them. And that makes all the difference in powerful marketing. Who doesn't know Costco as the samples place, right? But, think about how many times that actually make you purchase, too!
Tapping Into Sensory Marketing In Your Brand
We know that the examples above are big brands. But, as we say on our podcast, just because your brand isn't Fortune 500, doesn't mean that your marketing can't be Fortune 500. Your brand can tap into each of these senses to create an emotional connection with your audience and build a relationship that can turn into a loyal customer.
Smell
Create a signature scent
in your store, on your product packaging, go Elle Wood's and spray the paper you are using (like a thank you cards or business card)
A Candle company creating a familiar scent to spark a memory
Old books, a childhood memory - create something that brings people back to a specific time in their lives.
Using seasonal scents
If you are a brick-and-mortar location, lean into the seasons through seasonal scents to sway people toward seasonal products.
Strategic cooking stations
If you are a restaurant, create spaces like an open-concept kitchen, to create smells throughout your entire location.
Sight
Branding
Create a cohesive and powerful brand guideline that taps into powerful visuals!
Effective visuals
Like Rhode, use visuals that tell a story behind the product or brand!
Packaging that your target audience will love
Have you ever been drawn to a product on the shelf because it has fun packaging? I know I have! Create packaging that stands out and pulls your audience in
Store Layout + Decor
Your store layout and ambiance should also be intentional to your target audience. Put things at eye-level, make the store match your branding, and make the layout easy to understand and follow.
Taste
Offer free samples
offer samples of new products or products that the flavor speaks for itself!
Seasonal or Signature flavors
We all love when the seasonal drinks drop at Starbucks and Dunkin, and that all comes back to how well they use seasonal promotions and taste marketing! Create an exclusive flavor, or seasonal flavor to keep your audience coming back!
Pairings
A huge part of effectively marketing is to have your audience visualize it in real life! Your audience is going to thing about the when and where to use the product, and pairings could be a great way to do that! Wine and Halloween candy pairings, what two ice cream flavors you should scoop next time, etc.
Social Proof
Prompt your audience to describe the flavor of your product in their reviews and testimonials to help other imagine the tastes.
Imagery
Tapping into sight and taste, take a page from Rhode's book and create the sense of taste through visuals.
Sound
Create a jingle
On your ads, commercials, or in-store, create a sound effect that makes people instantly think of your brand when they hear it.
Curate Playlist
Create a playlist that matches your branding to create a consistent feel.
Touch
Display Products
Let your customers get a feel for the product by setting out a few "testers" or sample items.
Interactive Displays
There are so many apps, tech, and creative displays that can help you create a interactive display for customers to feel.
Fitting Rooms
Create a space where your customers and comfortably try on clothes and accessories!
Fun Marketing Materials
Get creative with your marketing materials! Make your menus, brochures, business cards, and merch with a fun memorable twist.
Fabric/Texture Samples
Furniture, clothing, car interior, interior design - these are great industries where you can order samples that customers can feel!
This concludes the exclusive on sensory marketing — what it is, how big brands are using it, and even how your small business can use this, too. Sensory marketing all goes back to giving the customers an experience to make them get a better idea of the product or brand as a whole, so ensure you are being intentional with your marketing and adding in sensory elements!
