« Most brands and products are now interchangeable.” Philip Kotler
As one of fathers of Marketing said, "more and more products are the substitution of another one". For the companies of these products, their challenge is to distinguish from the others. How? If products have noticeably the same functions and satisfy customers, the differentiation is made through the brand. Some brands do not hesitate to stimulate the consumers' 5 senses, in order "to enrich the brand experience and build up its uniqueness and personality,while ultimately paving the way to the consumers' affection, preference and loyalty.”
Be different, use Sensorial Marketing.
To do the difference, firms associate increasingly their brand to an emotional added-value, a solution to the consumer’s hedonist quest, mainly thanks to taste, sight, smell, touch, and sound. In traditional marketing (product marketing), firms often use sight, through colors and forms, to attract consumers. For instance, most brands have a logo to express their values and sensations that their product delivers. Then, taste and smell are obviously employed in organic products like food, fruits, drinks,…in order to make the product attractive for customers. Sound and touch are less used in marketing because it is harder for companies to symbolize values of the brand and inspire good feeling to people. We can diffuse music in shops and use soft raw materials in the cloth production but your brand is not directly relied on it.
Honestly, I think sensorial marketing can be a really good idea to emphasize the products and encourage customers to consume. Indeed, creating a cozy atmosphere may make people confortable, and therefore be more prepare to purchase. For instance, sound and smell are not used enough in outlets, especially in supermarkets, a place where many people hate to spend much time. At the moment, Sensorial Marketing is only a tool to increase sales volume and not to improve or to promote the brand image.
Coca-Cola and its new catching bottle catch the audience’s eye.
For the brand Coca-Cola, Sensorial Marketing is not really new. It used it in 1916 when it decided to change the bottle. Coca-Cola wanted a bottle to everyone could recognize in the darkness through the touch. Thus, the original bottle represents the woman’s body with the brand written in three-dimensional. This bottle, called “The Dame with the sheath dress”, still symbolizes the brand. Coca-Cola succeeded in matching the brand image with the touch of the bottle.
In 2008, Coca-Cola repeats the experience for the launch of its new bottle. To express the idea that the new bottle is easier to catch than the last one, Coca-Cola and Marcel Agency launched Velcro poster campaign distributed in bus shelters. I think it is a very original idea to compare the “catching” form of the bottle to the Velcro sensation. In my opinion, it was a risky gamble because it might people do not understand the relationship between the bottle and Velcro strips. But, regarding volume sales’ figures, Coca-Cola succeeded in catching people’s eye. Indeed, in 2008, French volume sales increased by 3.8 % compared with the previous year.
Orangina, much more than a drink.
Orangina used also Sensorial Marketing through its bottle. Orangina was as subtle as Coca-Cola, creating a bottle which refers to the taste of drink. Indeed, Orangina designed a bottle looking like an orange which reminds the drink taste. Beyond the form, the Orangina’s bottle has the same touch as the orange skin. Here, I think it is a good way to promote the product itself whereas we have not consumed it yet. Only through the touch and the look, we guess what we are going to consume.
Sensorial Branding, the brand which differs from the other
In my point of view, nowadays, we cannot work in Marketing without Sensorial Branding. We live in the innovation and technologies Age where people still expect to be surprised by brands. Customers keep on wanting to feel new sensations. Sensorial Marketing could be the solution for brands to differentiate themselves and perhaps to inspire customers to be loyal towards a brand. But as a future marketer, in certain cases, I would hesitate to use it, because Sensorial Branding may manipulate customers through their senses, especially the smell in organic products.
I say "yes" for a Sensorial Branding which permits the brands to differ in the market but "no" for a S.B which lies to consumers! As marketers, we should be responsible for what and how we promote, especially if we decide to attract consumers thanks to their senses, something which is difficult to control!
I say "yes" for a Sensorial Branding which permits the brands to differ in the market but "no" for a S.B which lies to consumers! As marketers, we should be responsible for what and how we promote, especially if we decide to attract consumers thanks to their senses, something which is difficult to control!
XoXo
C.G.
Sources:
http://www.journaldunet.com/management/dossiers/0606139marketing/controverse.shtml
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