BRAND EXPERIENCE 405marketing (meant to activate a specifi c brand instead of to make a store in general stand out
or to stimulate the general budget spent in the store) has been ignored for a long time.
However, now the importance of sensorial marketing is generally acknowledged.^96 Aesthetic
products and aesthetic packaging are exciting and appealing, increase our aff ective involve-
ment and even make us prefer an unknown, more expensive brand above a known, cheaper-
priced brand in a standard packaging.^97 Smelling freshly baked waffl es makes us feel like
buying one even though we are not hungry. Crisps should make the right sound or we do not
believe they are fresh. We oft en cannot resist tasty food even if we know this type of food is
not healthy. And we fi rst want to touch products to avoid buying something that does not feel
right. Importantly, how a product is perceived by one of our senses can impact or bias our
perception of the pleasantness of the product derived from our other senses, infl uencing an
overall, multisensory product experience.^98 Th erefore, delivering a consistent multisensory
experience can positively infl uence brand evaluations.^99 Abercrombie & Fitch understands
this well. In line with an image of a sexy, near-luxury brand, it makes sure to use half-naked,
good-looking models, and have stylish clothing consisting of high-grade materials such as
cashmere, pima cottons and high-quality leather. Th e music in its stores puts consumers in
the appropriate mood, and its stores as well as its clothes are scented with a nice, distinct
smell. Even aft er having bought Abercrombie & Fitch merchandise, consumers can still
smell the distinctive scent, reinforcing the experience one got in the store. In short,
sight, touch, sound and smell are nicely aligned to create a near-luxury, movie-like brand
experience.^100
Academic research stresses the importance of aligning the diff erent senses to create a
powerful multisensory experience. For instance, research shows that in people’s minds sour-
ness, bitterness, crunchiness and carbonation correspond cross-modally with angular shapes
and sharper, plosive stop consonants (e.g. marketers are advised to pack crisps in an angular
pack and use ‘c’, ‘d’, ‘g’, ‘k’, ‘p’, ‘q’ or ‘t’ in its brand name, such as Croky), whereas sweet, still
and creamy food and beverage products benefi t more from rounder shapes and back vowel
brand names (e.g. yoghurt is better packed in a round packaging using an ‘o’ rather than an
‘i’ in the brand name, such as in Yoplait).^101
To activate a brand by means of sensory marketing, marketers should reach the con-
sumers’ fi ve senses on a deeper level than mass communications or store atmospherics in
general do. It should be done in a personal, preferably interactive way.^102 Ideally, the brand
experience provides proof of a brand claim. Gillette, for example, can claim in a TV spot that
Gillette Fusion gives a smooth shave, but consumers automatically activate their persuasion
knowledge when confronted with advertising and will question the message. However,
when Gillette gives them a free shave and lets them experience the smoothness, the message
becomes credible because the claim has been prooved.^103Philips proved its ‘sense and simplicity’ slogan in Taiwan with a simple campaign. To promote its grooming kits in
a country in which men are not really interested in facial hair, Philips did not make use of an app or other digital
gimmick to convince men to grow a beard or stubbles. They just distributed transparent mugs with a translucent
beverage to hairdressers. Hairdressers were chosen because people are very receptive to hairdressers’ advice on
their looks. On the mugs, one of thousands of varieties of a facial hair pattern was printed. On some there was onlyBUSINESS INSIGHT
What about facial hair?M12_PELS3221_05_SE_C12.indd 405M12_PELS3221_05_SE_C12.indd 405 5/6/13 2:58 PM5/6/13 2:58 PM