Prologue

Within a few months after Buy was published, I became a regular guest on the Today Show, America's most famous morning talk show. We cover a wide range of topics - shopping addiction, whether sex in advertising is effective, subliminal advertising, and more. In a recent episode, I conducted a focus group test with a group of children ages 8 to 12. My aim was to test the impact of sensory branding on these children. In other words, it’s the extent to which smells, sounds, and even textures can enhance a product’s appeal. It's an amazing feeling, like hosting a new show called "Guess What."

First, I played a few familiar tunes. These songs are all related to big companies or TV shows. Most children immediately named the song's origins, including Disney, Apple Computer, and the theme song from NBC's "SpongeBob SquarePants" cartoon. Next is the smell test. The first smell, I think it is the smell that most easily evokes childhood memories in the world.

One child couldn't wait: "Oh! I guessed it..."

Another child interrupted him, "Everyone knows what it is!"

" Okay," I said, "I'll count to three, tell me what brand this is. Are you ready? One-two-three--"

The children shouted together: "Play-Doh!" Then I showed off two more scents, Crayon Crayons and Johnson's Baby Powder. The children guessed it easily. Then, we entered the "brand collage board" stage - judging the brand name from a corner or part of the company logo or icon. Still, the kids recognized most of the brands, from Kellogg's and Pepsi to MTV to Nike. To my surprise, some of the kids even recognized Gucci and Tiffany.

After showing off a series of brand logos, I brought in a few more garments. Some of them are made by high-end designers and purchased from shopping malls, while others are off-brand items purchased from street vendors.

For today’s middle school students who are keen on fashion and brands, the appearance rate of blue jeans is really not high. One of the children, a girl named Olivia, picked up a pair of jeans and gestured on her legs.

"These pants are from Abercrombie!" she shouted happily.

I didn’t give her time to think: “Why are you so sure these jeans are real and not fake?”

“Because of the smell,” Olivia replied. Then, she put the pants under her nose and took a deep breath, as if she was enjoying the aroma emanating from the jeans (of course, some people may find the smell not very pleasant).

The jeans in Olivia's hands are no different from other blue jeans. It could be Target brand, it could be Macy’s brand, or it could be produced by some other factory in the United States. But this middle school student was able to determine the brand of these pants based on only one clue, which was the unique and exclusive smell.

Olivia’s brand preferences may sound fantastic, but my work with the Today Show reminded me of a project I once launched—the world’s first sensory branding research project. This study ended in 2005 and lasted for five years, attracting the participation of hundreds of researchers and thousands of consumers on four continents around the world. The purpose of our research is to understand the rationale behind behaviors like Olivia's, so that consumers understand why they are addicted to a certain product, whether it is an iPod player, a cup of Nescafe coffee, or even a simple meal. Breakfast cereal.

In short, Olivia is a living example, and this effect is exactly what many businessmen aspire to achieve when creating brands. There’s a question I’ve pondered for a long time: What makes a child (or an adult) addicted to a certain brand, like Apple or Kellogg’s? What factors create this magical, magnetic, and lasting connection between consumers and brands? Does this fascination and belief in a brand lead to disappointment or even boredom?

These questions prompted me to launch the "Sensory Brand" research project in 2005. I led my team to interview many people who have "close relationships" with various brands and asked them a variety of questions.

In some cases, you can even think of this relationship as a "love relationship." They willingly and generously shared their passion and perspective on brands with me - valuable information that helped me come to the conclusion that if you want your products and advertising to survive into the next century, you must Completely change direction. Of course, if you're lucky enough to be on a billboard in Times Square, it's okay if you don't change it. You need a new, sensory brand vision that engages consumers emotionally.

I then realized (and I still think so) that a brand must translate into a sensory experience, not just what we see. I also find that the connection between children and sensory brands is very deep and strong - the senses here include hearing, touch, smell and feeling. As surprising as it may sound, the average child has twice the sensory capabilities of an adult. In fact, when a new mother is nursing her baby, she must not have imagined that her newborn's sense of smell is three times as sensitive as her own. This God-given function also creates a lasting emotional bond between mother and child.

As for the powerful power of sensory branding, let me give you another example about the Royal Mail Group. As we all know, the global postal service is shrinking significantly, because few people now use the mail service - of course, there are still people who send packages, I mean those white envelopes with stamps on the upper right corner The letters here are almost extinct. Having said that, please think about this: when was the last time you received a handwritten letter? Today's world prefers email, Facebook and Twitter. In order to save the declining postal business, the Royal Mail Group released a series of advertisements called "Touching Bands". The purpose of this advertisement is two-fold: first, to bring back long-lost nostalgia for consumers, even though paper letters have been defined as “snail mail”; second, to reflect the key role of direct mail in the digital age—it We are natural partners with new media. The British Sensory Brand Research Institute accepted Royal Mail's invitation to help them explore how to use the "five senses" to strengthen brand affinity. The experiment was named "Sensory Mail," and the results were astonishing.

The first batch of sensory mail we sent out - to be precise, it was a piece of chocolate with words engraved on it. Who can resist chocolate? The silky feel, the mouth-watering smell, the crisp sound when broken into two pieces, and most importantly, the taste.

The response to this creative and eye-catching “Royal Chocolate Mail” exceeded expectations. Three-quarters of recipients thought the campaign perfectly demonstrated how direct mail brings together the “five senses.” Furthermore, I should stress that there was some follow-up action - not just eating the chocolate - they started sending letters again!

However, we still need to scientifically prove our results to media planners and advertisers. Global brand research agency Millward Brown used neuroscience and the most advanced brain scanning technology to date - fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to study the brains of 20 British men and women to see whether the Royal Mail experiment Inspiring real emotional engagement. In other words, see if there is a strong emotional response from consumers. They wanted to know whether the volunteers' brains responded differently when they saw the same message via direct mail versus a computer screen. Whether it’s a brand or an advertisement, you have to find ways to get into the brain that is already filled with countless information. It may be hard to imagine, but our brains are very good at filtering out irrelevant information. Emotions capture our attention through the senses and thus influence our decision-making process. Brands that can create an emotional connection with consumers are more powerful than other brands - easier said than done.

Millward Brown’s scientific research leads to the conclusion that direct mail—and indeed those chocolates—are not just “real” to the brain, they are tangible. Land occupies a "place" in consumers' cognition. Moreover, direct mail makes the brain's information processing process simpler, which not only stimulates emotions, but also makes the decision-making process smoother. In short, the Royal Mail experiment conclusively proves that direct mail can break through the barriers and enter the working areas of the brain - which is quite a feat, especially in the increasingly digital age in which most of us live. .

Through the examples of Olivia and Royal Mail, I also discovered another secret of brand success: a brand should strive to create a "kinship" with consumers, similar to fans It's a kind of fanaticism, even, to some extent, like a religious belief.

I don’t want to compare brands and religions yet, but we can first look at some correlations between sensory brands and the spiritual world. In the future, the most impressive and distinctive brands will definitely be those that not only know how to follow tradition but also have religious characteristics, because they maximize the integration of sensory brands. Each integrated brand can enhance its identity through messaging, appearance, logos, customs, and traditions, just as sports teams and religions do.

However, evoking an emotion akin to religious fervor is just one of many goals for next-generation products and advertising. In order to survive in the fierce competition, brands must interact with consumers by integrating the “five senses”. Think about the Abercrombie brand example I just mentioned! We live in a planet lacking faith, and consumers are desperately looking for their spiritual home. Ironic as it may sound, while some religions strive to "innovate," consumers are desperately looking for something else. Sadly (some people may think so), in fact, this "other thing" is the brand - if you have been to China, you will definitely recognize this phenomenon. The power of "brand religion" is even greater than that of the country for thousands of years. Faith is even stronger.

The results of this large-scale research project formed the basis of this book. We explore the role each of the five senses plays in creating an “intimacy” between consumers and brands. Additionally, we examined the extent to which religious factors—belief, faith, belonging, and community—will guide the future of brands. At first glance, religion and branding may not seem to have anything to do with each other. But is this really the case? When you go to any church, even if you haven't stepped through the door, the first thing you feel is the impact of your senses, whether it's the bells at noon in Zurich or Swiss churches, or the majestic prayers in Istanbul; In the church, your senses will be constantly stimulated and awakened, whether it's the unique fragrance filling the air or the faint musty smell emanating from the ancient pews. No matter where you are, no matter what faith you hold, religion sends you a clear, unique set of signals through your senses—even if you've never seen a cross, an altar, a stained glass window, or a Jew yarmulke. The world's oldest religion is about 3,500 years old, but what about the world's oldest brand? ——Only 150 years. That’s why I’ve come to believe that it’s time for brands to take a page from religion—and teach important lessons about faith and loyalty.

We also believe that our Sensory Branding research can only be effective if implemented on a global scale. Our multicultural research team members come from 24 countries around the world and speak 18 different languages. In addition, this global research project has another goal: to discover brand development trends and explore the development process of local brands, thereby laying a solid foundation for the implementation of our integrated brand theory and making this theory applicable to any culture , any preferred market environment.

I decided to cooperate with Millward Brown. Millward Brown's extensive brand knowledge made it the perfect partner for this project. As early as 1999, the concept of "sensory branding" has been rooted in my mind. I am very pleased that it eventually developed into a global brand research project, attracting the participation of more than 600 researchers.

Frankly speaking, this kind of research using sensory perception and religion to compare brands is unprecedented. At the same time, we remain sensitive to the differences in character, depth, and essence between the three in order to remain objective. Naturally, my publisher expressed concern about this issue when I started writing the book. To be cautious, I even embarked on a lecture tour across the United States to test my theory in front of live audiences. There was a speech I gave in Washington that made a lasting impression on me. I displayed pictures of the Pope and Mr. Ronald McDonald on two screens at the venue. As a native Dane, at a time when traditional religion in Denmark has almost disappeared, I quickly noticed that the audience in the audience was highly sensitive to religious topics.

This is a living example of what happened before my eyes.

Therefore, I can boldly say that "Sensory Brand" is definitely a groundbreaking project. We selected 13 countries for focus group interviews based on the following indicators: market size, brand expression, overall product innovation, religious expression, brand maturity, and most importantly - sensory history. In the process, we discovered that even if some brands are considered very "global", when they are viewed from the perspective of local culture, the results are completely different.

So I can also say that the project of "sensory brand" is a synthesis of unique markets and differentiated markets. For example, we chose Japan, India, and Thailand because these three countries have a long history of integrating the “five senses” in their culture and traditions. Some of Japan's most creative brands often tap into the five senses. If you're in a hurry, it's best not to visit a Japanese retail store because you'll never be able to pay and leave immediately. But this is precisely the advantage of these stores that is difficult to replace. Even if you spend half an hour, you will find yourself surrounded by a distinctive cultural atmosphere. I guarantee that your shopping experience will be as beautiful as a piece of art tied with a delicate ribbon. After all, Marlboro also drew inspiration from Japan and learned to engrave a dotted line on the silver foil paper used to package cigarettes (for easy tearing), thus greatly increasing product sales. You may ask: What does this dotted line have to do with sales? Because the Japanese don't like the feeling of tearing off the silver foil, which may damage the surface pattern. A simple circle of dotted lines improves the tactile feel, allowing consumers to easily open the packaging while keeping the pattern intact. As a result, this small "revision" completely changed Montblanc's sales in just a few weeks.

The long design tradition of Scandinavian countries makes them attach great importance to the spread of visual image. Designers from this region are active in every corner of the world - from female condoms to pill bottle openers; and the United States and the United Kingdom, with their huge market shares and diverse media, are facing the challenge of establishing and maintaining brands. Huge challenge. In addition, we chose Chile, Mexico, Poland and Spain because of their strong religious consciousness and prayer traditions, as well as their long history of music and food.

But no matter where you are from, our values, our feelings, our emotions, and our memories - are all stored in our brains. You can compare this human "categorization system" with an old-fashioned video recorder. A video recorder has two storage tracks, one for images and another for sound; and the human brain has at least five tracks - image, sound, smell, taste and touch. These tracks contain more data than you can imagine, and they instantly locate themselves in our emotions. They can also be fast-forwarded or rewinded at will, even fixed at a very precise point. The more tracks you can "record" for a certain experience, the richer your memories will be.

For this reason, I firmly believe that the next decade will see a series of seismic changes in the way consumers perceive brands. Its intensity is no less than the process of black and white TV - mono color TV - 52-inch high-definition home theater with surround sound.

Fasten your seat belts, your sensory journey is about to begin - I believe that after this trip, you will never look at a brand through the "old eyes" again.