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