Increase Brand Awareness Using the Five Senses

4 minutes

January 3rd 2021

Renata Novak is a brand manager, digital marketer and content writer.

We all know about the importance of brand awareness – it’s the number one deciding factor in whether or not our business will flourish. It’s no wonder we’re constantly looking for ways to implement different strategies into our business module in order to better our chances of getting recognized in the buyer’s market. Sometimes, however, we feel like we’re running out of ideas – it takes a lot to stay on top, after all. That is why it is necessary to always think outside the box and open our minds to even the craziest idea – and boy, do I got a crazy idea for you.

Let’s talk promotional gifts. We all love them, no matter what shape they come in. But what if I told you that there’s one extra step you can take to ensure your customers will be coming back again and again? No, I’m not talking about hypnosis – well, sort of. What you need to do, if you really want to astound them, is get into their psyche without them actually realizing it. Stick around to find out more.

Discreetly Appeal to Their Senses

Do you ever smell a certain smell and it takes you back to that specific day in kindergarten, where you and your childhood friends played with Legos? People have been calling this phenomenon ‘the Proust effect’ – it’s when a certain smell triggers a memory you basically forgot existed, but makes it incredibly vivid at the same time. This is one of the ways you can keep your customers coming back time and time again; but more on that later.

The five senses – touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste – are a very powerful thing that you can use to benefit your company. But it isn’t rocket science, mind you – just an often overlooked marketing strategy that works best when not advertised with the products you give out.

Let’s take a look at each of the five senses, and how they can help you build brand awareness.

Products, that might interest you

Sight

Sight is the main sense developers of promotional products rely on – it is what draws the buyers’ attention and helps them make a visual connection with your brand. By choosing the right colours and combining them into attractive designs and shapes you are very likely to appeal to your customer base, and, if luck is on your side, grow it. However, because this is the main sense promotional products focus on, it is also very hard for your gifts to stand out in the sea of other products trying to achieve the exact same thing. If done correctly, on the other hand, sometimes the visual appeal is all you need for your customers to remember you.

Touch

When it comes to promotional gifts, touch often has to do with the practicality and functionality of the products – every time a client uses the item they’ve received, they will think about your company, which, of course, leads to better brand awareness. That is why every single time you order a batch of promotional products you must think about whether or not the recipients will find use for it. If not, chances are your gift will get thrown in the thrash and never be thought about again. You don’t want that, now do you?

Hearing

When trying to raise brand awareness, most unexperienced entrepreneurs decide to get their company’s name out in the world using ads through different kinds of media – some use newspaper columns to do so, while others prefer to advertise on radio, the television or, in the recent times, the internet. However, as you probably know from your own personal experience, this advertising technique can come across as incredibly annoying to potential new customers. And this is where promotional products come in – MP3 players or headphones both provide audio stimulation without causing nuisance.

Smell

We’re finally talking about the smell – essential oils, scented candles, and food-related promotional gifts will become one of the trends in 2020, trust me. Because of what we discussed earlier (smell triggering specific memories from years, even decades ago), implementing this particular sense into your marketing strategy is likely to bring you the results you desire. Even if it is not entirely about bringing back nearly forgotten memories, or connecting the smells with your brand, it can still bring about pleasant emotions that your customers will associate with your company – the smell of vanilla cookies, chocolate, citrus fragrances, coconut creams, and more.

Taste

Needless to say, smell and taste often go hand in hand – however, the latter is only reserved for edible promotional products, which can turn out to be tricky to work with. You have to consider what types of food you should be giving out – definitely try avoiding food products that could go stale in a couple of hours, or for example fruit in case it rots (although fruit baskets still make phenomenal promotional gifts). But then again, don’t go in the complete opposite direction – even if free, I personally wouldn’t want to receive canned food as a freebie.