A couple months ago, on a warm Saturday evening, I was sitting on the patio at Stan’s Blue Note in Dallas with some friends. While I was somewhat paying attention to the conversation, as I was updating my Facebook status, I heard a familiar song come over the bar stereo. “Like a rock, I was strong as I could be…” If you’re like me, and not familiar with the man behind the music (Bob Seger, I looked him up on Google), you might have another way of connecting with this song…through those long-running Chevrolet truck commercials.One thing a lot of great brands have in common is their ability to connect emotionally with consumers via the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. In the case of my encounter with Mr. Seger, sound is all I needed to remind me that Chevy trucks are built like a rock and can withstand extensive mileage, weather and wear and tear for many years. This is great example of a brand that drove home a strong selling point with a catchy classic that mirrored its most important product attribute.
And when fighting a consumer’s mind for recall and recognition, especially these days with so much traditional and digital clutter, you have to tap into a consumer’s senses and connect with them on a personal level. Whether you do it through an exciting TV spot, a catchy radio tune or a compelling logo that shapes your brand around a their brain, your consumer will remember you.
One of the more common, widely exposed senses is sight. And a good example of brand consistently triggering your eyeballs is McDonalds. You’ll find nothing new here that’ll tell you why McDonalds is number one in the fast food category. And why they’ll most likely stay number one for a while. When you’re driving in your car and you see the Golden Arches in sight, a quarter mile down the road amongst a handful of other fast food joints, odds are your mind will gravitate towards this iconic sign. That’s because you probably don’t need to see the name of the restaurant to know that McDonalds will satisfy your craving for short-term, inexpensive happiness. At least you know what makes me happy.
While the two aforementioned senses ruled consumer advertising for nearly a century and a half, according to world renowned branding guru Martin Lindstrom, author of “Brand Sense – Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight, and Sound” (2005), the other untapped senses must be tapped in order to make an effective sensory connection.
Starbucks is a great example of a brand that tied smell with its most obvious product: coffee. It wasn’t until 2008 when Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz reinstated the idea of freshly ground coffee beans at Starbucks locations. The thought was to bring back that rich, coffee aroma to trigger that powerful emotion in Starbucks customers. One whiff of this successful smell would leave a mental note in customers’ minds as to where they needed to pick up their next cup of Joe.
At Agency Creative, we really get to know our clients’ brands and help them make that emotional connection with their consumers. We dig deep to understand what makes their brand unique and special, and discover how we can expose their greatest qualities.
