Synthetic Synesthesia

ABSTRACT: Why do consumers buy what they buy? Why do certain products attain a cult following, whereas other great products never develop a fan base. “Appealing to the consumers multiple senses, touch taste, smell, sight, and sound, helps establish a deepersense of brand loyalty that resonates long after the message has been sent” Aradhna Krishna (18). Because of Krishna’s book Sensory Marketing, we have a whole new field of study which includes all of the senses, according to Alumni Magazine of the Ross School ofBusiness, this was made possible after holding “the first sensory marketing conference”(“The Senses and Sensibilities of Marketing”, 18) in 2008 which brought together experts of individual senses such as taste or smell. The combination of senses leads to a sensoryrich, immersive experience, and therefore a memorable one as designer Jinsop Lee says in his Ted talk “Design for the five senses”.

Up till now, designers have “mainly focused on making things look very pretty, and a

little bit of touch, which means we've ignored the other three senses.” 5 Jinsop Lee urges us to

design for the five senses, things should not just look pretty, but they should feel good, sound

good, smell good, and whenever possible taste good too! Your brain records all of your

experiences for decision making later on in life, the tools your brain uses to record these

experiences are the five senses. From a marketing perspective, if you can trigger someone's

sense of touch to a high degree, they love the way this product feels, that’s great, but it wont

have the same effect as a product which triggers two or more of the senses simultaneously.

Commercial advertisements have been employing these tactics at every opportunity, even

though the consumer cannot use all the senses while simply watching an ad on the television,

trigger words and choice images stimulate these senses nonetheless. The brain matches what

it sees and hears in an ad, and cross references that data to its past experiences, the foggy

breath tells the brain its cold, the cuddly puppy tells us the product is soft, the fast paced

music excites the brain, the sound of a girl smelling a man with a certain cologne followed by

a sigh of pleasure tells us that this cologne is intoxicating. Considering intimate contact

stimulates all five of the senses, it is no wonder that the phrase sex sells holds true.

•Colgate is looking into new flavors of toothpaste such as

chocolate and fruit flavors.6

•Words like sour, sweet, spicy, minty all trigger certain reactions

in the brain because of associations from past experiences

•.Coca-Cola and similar companies sell a flavoring, their syrup

having a unique mixture of ingredients.

• Some gum candies change flavor over time.

•Colors can often be associated with flavors: “Red Hot”

•“Smell can call up memories and powerful responses almost

instantaneously.”3

•The olfactory build is connected to the limbic system.

•The limbic system is known to be involved in many of our

emotions and motivations.”4

• Some structures of the limbic system are heavily involved in memory.•Research shows that when certain areas of the brain connected to memory become damaged, the ability to identify smells is impaired. 4

•Listening to music that you connect too causes the brain to

release dopamine, a “feel good” chemical.1

• Using a “jingle” helps consumers create associations between a

sound and the product or service. Ex: Old Spice, Intel

•Many people use specific ringtones for family and friends, or the

occasional terrifying boss.

•According to the Journal of Consumer Research, the slower the

music, the more people shop.2

•When slow music is played in restaurants the average bill is 29%

higher.2

•Starbucks uses earth tones, greens and browns to lull

customers into a relaxed state.

•Starbucks mission: To inspire and nurture the human

spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at

a time.

•Dunkin Donuts uses bright white and contrasted

colors to pop out and wake customers up.

•Dunkin founders mission: Make and serve the

freshest, most delicious coffee and donuts quickly and

courteously in modern, well-merchandised stores.

•Can you type without looking? This is an example of

muscle memory, and keyboards made with notches at

the “J” and “F” help us operate a keyboard

effectively.

•Soft drink companies come out with new designs for

their bottles to fit comfortably in the hand, or to have

grooves for the fingers.

•Would you prefer a soft plush pillow or a scratchy

woolen pillow?

• The skin is the largest organ on the human body,

and we use it heavily to perceive the world around us,

especially determining friend from foe.

Decision Making

Sources: 1: Sohn, Emily. "Why Music Makes You Happy." DNews. Discover, 10 Jan. 2011. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.

2: Murtagh, Joe. "Successful Marketing Demands Use of All Five Senses | Motivational Speaker - The Dream Speaker™." Successful Marketing Demands Use of All Five Senses | Motivational Speaker - The Dream Speaker™. The Dreamspeaker, n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.

3: Dowdey, Sarah. "How Smell Works." HowStuffWorks, 29 Oct. 2007. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.

4: Bailey, Regina. "Limbic System." About.com Biology. About, n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2014

5: Lee, Jinsop. "Jinsop Lee: Design for All 5 Senses." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. TED, Aug. 2013. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.6: "Kid's Products." Children's Dental. Colgate, n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2014.