“Pumpkin Spice is Brilliant:” ODU Marketing Expert Explains Allure of Sensory Marketing
September 29, 2017
Mahesh Gopinath
Fall is associated with leaves changing and cooler weather and, in recent years, pumpkin spice.
Pumpkin spice can be found in just about anything from coffee flavors, candles, cupcakes, cereals, breads and much more. The best part is, pumpkin spice products are offered for a limited time so customers appreciate and enjoy them more.
The phenomenon is part of sensory marketing, a tactic that allows companies to forge emotional associations in the customers' minds by appealing to senses (sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch).
It's like an automatic switch in the brain that attracts consumers to the product.
"Fall means a lot of things, including festivities, holidays and family connection. It's not all about smell, it's the feeling of joy and positive emotions. If you look at some of the memories of most people's childhoods, a good number of memories are associated with fall," said Mahesh Gopinath, associate professor in the Department of Marketing at Old Dominion University.
Gopinath, who teaches consumer behavior, said although sensory marketing isn't a new technique, he does expect more companies to start using it to gain a sharper advantage over competitors.
"Sensory marketing has become very popular in the last 10 years," he said. "This is a very competitive marketplace. Anything a company can do to attract consumers and go beyond what competitors are doing will make consumers remember the product more when associated with smell, touch and so on. Humans can detect thousands of smells and tastes and in fact, the most emotional sense is smell."
Gopinath said sensory marketing is a big part of why companies like Apple, Abercrombie and Fitch, Amazon, Whole Foods and Coca Cola have grown over the years.
"If you look at a company that's successful, in some way they have done sensory marketing," Gopinath said. "For example, the shape of the Coca Cola bottle. It's been around since 1915 and one of the reasons for its success, is the shape and way people hold it in their hands. It brings a feeling of comfort. Sensory marketing is very powerful."
