Playing on the Senses: Taste

This post is a continuation of the previous post I made on using our 5 senses in marketing. I don't pretend to have all the answers when it comes to using our senses for marketing campaigns, but am always interested in how they play a part in every decision we make. Therefore, this post will focus on the sense of "Taste."

Taste

Using a passage from Martin Lindstrum's book, Buyology (a must read), companies have used taste tests to drive customers through their doors for many years. An example from the book is the Pepsi vs. Coke taste tests that proves Pepsi does actually taste better than Coke. However, this is because Pepsi's taste test only had people take a sip of their product versus drinking an entire can. In fact, most people find Pepsi too sweet, but will hands-down pick it over Coke for that initial burst of flavor. So, how do companies lure us into buying their tasty products?

Living in Brazil for three years taught me a lot about taste testing. In fact, everyday I went to the supermercdo, there was always a product for me to taste or sample, followed by a nice coupon to buy said product. I will have to admit that I tried most everything people offered without hesitation. Free food? Sure! So, do taste tests actually make us buy a product we had no intention of buying when walking into the grocery store? 

Using sales reports from three large supermercado's in Curitiba, Brazil, I have seen firsthand how taste tests drive sales. I even have succumb to the almighty product that delighted me with its sweet and spicy flavor; one I had no intention of buying. How can a company that doesn't sell anything related to food take advantage of this concept of taste testing? 

What if a business partnered with a company trying to launch a new, tasty product and could host the tasting? Keep in mind, that this tasty product must really taste good. Would people associate their pleasure for the sampled product with the company sponsoring the testing? Would people actually think of the sponsor company as being a tasty company as well? 

In this new age of consumer-controlled marketing, companies are held at the mercy of their consumers. People aren't as easily convinced something is good because said company says so. We must feel that a company is good, and in this case, we must think it taste good. Thus, is it possible for non-food/beverage company to taste good? 

Playing on the Senses

Do you remember your grade-school teachers stressing the importance of science? If you are anything like me, then you listened but never really seemed interested to what anyone of authority was really saying during your adolescence. Perhaps, I should have listened a little more intently to the lesson on "Using Our Senses." As every marketer knows, playing on our senses is a key element in delivering messages to audiences.

My question is, "How do you know what senses to use?" I will focus on just three: Hearing, Touching and Seeing.

Hearing:
Should you always play "Eye of the Tiger" when you want people to be motivated? It seems like every high-school basketball team has this song integrated into their warm-up tracks and apparently we all seem to remember the underdog story of Rocky Balboa whenever the song is played. So, does HEARING "Eye of the Tiger" create a passion to be great despite the odds? Could this song be used to motivate us here in the U.S. to rise above these challenging economic times and achieve greatness? Maybe some company will come out with an "Eye of the Tiger" campaign and get us all pumped up to buy something again. We will have to wait and see.

Touching:
What about touch? My wife loves to buy clothing that is soft. If you have soft clothing at decent prices, my wife is the consumer for you. I'm not kidding. Everything we recently bought for our 5-month old was chosen on softness, not BRAND! So, I wander if other people ignore brands and buy things based on how they feel. Would someone buy a fully loaded Hyundai if it felt more comfortable than a Lexus?

Seeing:
"Seeing is believing." How do colors make us think in terms of making decisions? Our CMO, Catherine Poole, is an expert color consultant who speaks on behalf of paint brands like Freshaire Products. Catherine has implemented complete branding campaigns based on color, not words. Yes, that's right. Eliminate the little logo with your company's name on it, and focus everything on the emotions of color. Sound crazy? It doesn't seem so crazy when you see rip-off t-shirts using Budweiser's crown to promote their company. These rip-off companies know that you will think of Budweiser being "King" and hopefully associate them as being superior as well.

I have left out taste and smell, but will talk about these other two senses during my next blog. Be blessed in all you do and remember, "You've got the, eye of the tiger, the thrill of the fight..."

Chris Teague, The WIN Firm
www.thewinfirm.com