Sense and Sensibility – Using All 5 Senses to Promote Your Brand

According to Merriam-Webster, sense is defined as “one of the five natural powers (touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing) through which you receive information about the world around you." And sensibility as “the kinds of feelings that you have when you hear, see, read, or think about something”.

The use of promotional products in conjunction with standard multi-media is the only way to evoke all five of those powerful senses, and extend the upper-hand to your customers. Consumers can see and hear ordinary advertising. But can they feel them? Smell them? Taste them? Promotional products can help do just that. Here are five ways to appeal to consumers that simply are not achievable with other advertising strategies:

Sight
Used most frequently, sight is integrated into every moment we are awake. Although most common, this can also attribute to the lack of attention paid to the barrage of commercials on television and radio. We tend to “tune them out”. The same can also be said about print media. What percentage of a typical magazine is filled with advertisements? When faced with them from all sides, they can often be perceived as annoying.

Promotional products allow a different approach. It allows for a way to truly engage your consumer, in a way that is stimulating. It’s something physical, multi-dimensional, and memorable.

Touch
Promotional products are palpable. It’s a form of advertising that can be felt, touched, and held. Promo products, complete with company logo or other branding information, can also be practical and functional. This leads to effectiveness, continued use and brand exposure.

Sound
Advertising that commonly utilized this sense can often “go in one ear and out the other”. Even if we don’t change the station or channel during an ad, are we really paying attention? Offering promotional products that lends itself to audio stimulation (such as imprinted MP3 players, earphones, etc.) help to create an enjoyable experience versus simply annoyance. And instead of a 30-second ad that is playing one moment and gone the next, your promotional product can remain with them as long as it’s useful!

Smell
Our sense of smell is often considered to generate the most powerful impression. A particular scent can trigger a wealth of emotions and memories, from as long as decades ago. With the rare exception in some print medium, this is a reaction not available without the use of a promotion product.

The industry is teaming with products in this arena. Essential oils and candles are becoming more available, and gourmet food gifts have always lent themselves to evoking scent-memory. The smell of baking cookies or baking hams summon feelings of comfort and security. The smell of chocolate can be relaxing and indulgent. So, as we like to say at Maple Ridge Farms… “Wake up and smell the chocolate!”

 

Taste
That brings us to the sense that simply cannot be reached by any other form of media (and our personal favorite – although we may be biased)… Taste. Many people do not think of advertising by using food. They may utilize gourmet food gifts at the holiday time, but are missing out on the many other opportunities to put the sense of taste into action.

Edible promotional products, such as our complete line of gourmet gifts here at Maple Ridge Farms, become effective marketing tools by creating a memorable experience for the end user. When a consumer enjoys the gourmet treat, they will associate that gratification with the company providing the experience. Something not seen with traditional advertising.

The ability to use gourmet treats as room gifts, tradeshow handouts, employee recognition gifts, customer referral programs, and so much more means that food gift giving is not merely a holiday idea. It’s a way to send scrumptious and memorable promotional products all year long, leaving them coming back for more!

It’s important to appeal to all five senses, not letting any one of them overwhelm the others. Successful brand awareness is about finding the winning combination. Evoking sense memory with different looks, feels, sounds, smells and taste will set you apart from the crowd. To make sure that you are making an advantageous impression on your intended audience, you need to create an encounter that is more engaging than others around them. Letting them truly connect with the product will ensure a longer lasting brand recognition.

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