Retailers need to sense a brand revolution

Infatuation - yes. Fantasy - yes. Love and a relationship? No. And that's why anyone who thinks consumers can form meaningful relationships with brands based on one-dimensional visual interactions is also living in a fantasy world.

Fulfil all the senses

Real relationships fulfil all the senses. And in the same way that relationships will ultimately erode and wither when there are gaps between expectation and fulfilment, so too will brand equity.

As marketers and branders, we want consumers to be in love with the brands we build. We aim for them to become deeply involved and committed in the long term. That emotional and intellectual connection depends on sensory gratification, yet remarkably, so many brands still rely on visual stimulation as their primary - and often only - engagement with their audience.

Millions are spent on consultants and colour schemes, logos and layout, testing and tweaking - but not enough goes into casting the net wider to provide the sensory stimuli that will emotionally engage the audience and influence their buying behaviour.

Sensory branding

Brand guru Martin Lindstrom discusses sensory branding in depth in his book, Buy-ology, concluding that the retail brandscape of the future will be more about sounds and smells that it is about sight.

He asks us to pretend it's the year 2030 and we're standing in central New York, but we don't see any 20 foot high models or flashing neon. We do get a whiff of lemon from a high-end music store, a burst of orange from a sporting goods emporium and there's music everywhere. "This assault on your senses will be more effective in winning your mind, your loyalty and your dollars than you ever thought possible," he writes.

Times Square with no billboards? Unlikely. But a Sandton City with retail brand spaces that we can touch, feel, smell, hear and taste? Most definitely.

There is huge opportunity to tap into the senses to drive consumers' purchasing decisions and, as brand-builders, we need to be more aggressive in delivering the whole sensory package in-store.

Retail brands that offer a more complete sensory package will also be perceived as offering greater value - and they will be able to command a premium for doing so:

• Sight

  Companies spend millions on advertising to entice customers in store but this visual motivation is often in isolation. After the build-up, there's often a shortfall in expectation, putting the relationship on rocky ground.

  Yes, sight is a crucial factor in our buying decisions, but it is surprisingly far less powerful than we think. The real challenge - and the real benefit - comes when the visual in-store experience is consistent with the customer's expectation and when it is supported by stimuli that appeal to the other senses.

• Sound

  French music to drive sales of French wine and a German brass band to get consumers marching to find the bottles of Deutsche Riesling? Indeed. Researchers at the University of Leicester concluded that customers were three to four times more likely to select a bottle of wine that they associated with the music they heard than one they didn't - and Lindstrom uses these findings to back up his assertions that sounds trigger strong associations and emotions.

  What we hear can exert a powerful influence on our behaviour. So why Highveld Stereo over the airwaves in a men's premium clothing store, Eminem in the perfumery or the cricket commentary in the lingerie shop? Don't laugh - take a listen.

  Touch

  The rich leather of the sofas in the new Kingsley Heath shops or the tactile naturalness of the wooden display tables and fresh, crisp tissue paper wrapping in Poetry speak volumes about the brands. What we touch is what we expect.

  Quality, pleasure, something different, something very definitely special. Consumers want to pick up and hold a possible purchase. They want to feel its weight, the material it's made of, the touch of it against their skin.

  Relationships aren't going to flourish with a virtual embrace - but the real thing will be affirming and sustaining.

  Taste

  Does water taste the same everywhere? If it's in a polystyrene cup from a glugging plastic water dispenser, it will taste cheap - even in the showroom of a German luxury car manufacturer. If it's poured from a glass carafe with a slice of lemon and a sprig of fresh mint, it will have class.

  Consumers know how a brand should 'taste' - and we need to deliver that.

  Smell

  A new car, freshly baked bread, roasted coffee beans, just-picked frangipanis. All are evocative, calling up past associations and driving our expectations - but are brands doing enough to align this potent force with the other senses to influence consumer behaviour?

I've long held the view that retail branding is interactive theatre where the audience responds to environmental stimuli.

In a casino, the absence of natural light, muted colours and carefully cultivated sense of timelessness create the perfect conditions for punters to stay and play.

The same is true for Poetry stores countrywide. A subtle blend of sensory input that's consistent with consumers' expectations - the shop's visual impact, 'interior-decorated' store layouts with unique and personalised fittings and fixtures, padded hangers with silk ribbon, beautiful wrapping and inviting fragrances. It's the language of love.

More and more retailers cottoning on

More and more retailers are cottoning on and creating opportunities for sensory branding experiences, such as the cool room at Cape Union Mart where aspiring adventurers can wrap themselves in arctic fleece jackets to test their weatherproofing. Vapour streams from their nostrils, their cheeks redden against the freeze - they can taste the schnapps on the snowy slopes. Deal done.

Successful brands build long-term relationships with their followers - something which is never possible on a one-dimensional level. Love at first sight? Only if sensory fulfilment follows.

As Lindstrom says : "...we know the extent to which the senses are intertwined; that fragrance can make us see, sound can make us smack our lips, and sight can help us imagine sound, taste and touch...if it's the right pairing of sensory input."

The branding challenge is to get that pairing right.