Our experience of the world is deeply rooted in our five senses—sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell—and each plays a crucial role in shaping our emotional response and overall perception of a brand. How a brand is perceived can be a make-or-break factor for its success. Yet, despite the significant impact sensory experiences have on our connection with brands, many businesses still focus primarily on visual elements.
While visual branding has long been the cornerstone of brand identity, other sensory modalities remain underutilized. Some brands have dipped their toes into tactile and olfactory elements, but few have embraced a truly holistic approach to sensory branding. The potential for multi-sensory branding is vast, and we’re only beginning to explore it.
Imagine if we could harness the full spectrum of human senses to create a brand experience that resonates on a deeper level. By blending sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell, brands could offer more engaging and memorable interactions. This isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about tapping into the emotional and psychological responses that each sense can evoke.
The amygdala and hippocampus are central to memory and emotional response. By drawing on insights from neuroscience and psychology, brands can craft experiences that not only capture attention but also forge strong emotional connections. Effective sensory branding has the power to deeply influence memory recall and emotional resonance.
What if we could unlock the intricate relationship between sensory stimuli and brand perception? Imagine creating a sensory experience so compelling that it becomes ingrained in consumers' memories. Mastering sensory integration—combining sound, touch, taste, and scent—could greatly enhance the brand experience.
One area of sensory branding that remains surprisingly underutilized is sonic branding. I’ll admit, I’ve often overlooked its potential, finding it easier to tackle other sensory modalities. However, exploring and integrating sound thoughtfully could open up new dimensions of engagement and differentiation for brands.
Mastercard's CMO, Raja Rajamannar, emphasizes the power of multisensory marketing: “By making our brand tangible through the senses, we cut through the advertising clutter and create longer-lasting connections.” Research by Mastercard supports this, showing that over 65% of customers find a store more trustworthy when its sonic branding plays during checkout. (https://www.ramotion.com/blog/sonic-branding/)
Take the iconic Doordarshan (DD) theme tune, for example. While the visuals were certainly memorable, the sound has had an even greater cultural impact by triggering significant emotional responses. Sonic branding has traditionally been seen through jingles, like McDonald's “I’m Lovin’ It” or simple audio cues like the Windows startup sound and Netflix’s “ta-dum.” These examples have set a high bar, but they’re just the beginning. What does the future of sonic branding hold? What are its limits, and how might AI drive innovation in this space?
Consider this: what kind of sounds make us happy, make us cry, help us fall asleep, or make us feel positive? Are these emotional responses universal? I’d like to think so. Freddie Mercury’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” swayed billions, suggesting a common emotional thread. Similarly, why does the meditative sound of Sau-Hum calm people down universally? While emotional responses to sound can be subjective, I must argue, there seems to be a shared resonance. Babies globally respond to “Coco Melon,” furthermore, it is well known that 432 Hz meditation tracks and binaural beats enhance focus across cultures.
To fully exploit the power of sound, we need to dive deeper into its science and understand how to accurately predict the emotional responses it elicits and how it interacts with other senses. For instance, sound can influence taste: studies like "The Influence of Background Music on the Taste and Flavor of Wine" (2014) by Charles Spence and colleagues show that high-frequency sounds can enhance the perception of sweetness. Similarly, sound can affect our sense of temperature, making us feel colder—a fascinating example of cross-modal perception where one sensory modality affects another. Every time I hear a coca cola bottle open, I taste it.
I want to conclude this blog, with some of my own sonic branding dreams.
AI generated, personalised soundscapes for E-commerce:
a. Imagine browsing comic books and hearing one kind of music, then switching to yoga pants and experiencing a different soundscape.
b. Imagine, you just got laid off! Can online stores detect your mood and help make your shopping experience therapeutic through personalised soundscapes?
ASMR for Online Retail:
a. Imagine being able to hear the sound of wood, metal and fabric. Can online furniture stores explore ASMR and Sound Aware AR Features, to convey the tactile quality of materials?
b. Imagine trying to buy crockery, and a hypothetical brand called “UNBRKBLE” is trying hard to convey that their plates don’t break even if they fall from your rooftop, they do it and record the sound of the exact moment it touches the ground and all you here is a CLINK. Would that be enough to convince you to make that purchase?
Sensory packaging:
a. Imagine a wine bottle label have musical notes embedded in it with compact electrical circuits, that are sensitive to touch? A bar night with friends could get a whole lot better.
B. Imagine playing a game of Monopoly with AI Sound enabled components. Your friend tries to cheat and he gets called out!
Embracing and mastering the interplay of sensory modalities could significantly push the boundaries of branding, creating richer, more immersive experiences for consumers. The possibilities are endless and It’s an exciting time for brand experience designers, as we explore how to push the boundaries of sonic branding and make meaningful connections with our audiences.
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