This Multi-Sensory Century

The trillion dollar automobile industry is a prime example of products that incorporate most all of the elements of a successful script—joy, APS, storytelling, humanizing, rites, rituals and traditions, and multi-sensory design.

Even though cars have become a necessity in life, the anticipation of joy creates a highly competitive market that has consumers buying the most joy they can afford. The APS is revealed in the anticipation of the purchase, all of the progression experienced in driving and traveling, and the surprise in the reactions of others.

Cars are becoming more humanized every day, with the incorporation of multi-sensory aspects from the smell of the interior, to interactive gadgets, to talking dashboards. How human is a car that can parallel park itself, call for help, or tell you which way to turn? The storytelling element is revealed in the size of the engine, its horsepower, gas mileage, cost, all of the options, and in the experience with the dealer. We gain the rite of passage the day we drive out of the dealership, and join in all of the rituals of the brand’s specific club. We may even join a car club of other owners, wear merchandise and buy promotional items to show our membership. Some car owners have long-standing traditions, like Corvette owners, who wave at one another as they pass.

The big money RV business takes it up another notch, for these owners follow each other around the country for gatherings, parties, and story-telling adventures. Club members adopt a complete lifestyle, gathering to interact and establish a hierarchy of club members—through their display of the latest gizmos and gadgets, with many RVs in the million-plus range.

Fashion is another example where market innovation has turned a necessity into an obsession. Joy is pursued in the hunting and gathering of sought-after fashions, as well as the APS of perusing the magazines, searching the malls, and the delight of discounts. These are also the elements of rites, rituals, and traditions literally sewn into products. The fashion designers themselves have humanized their brands by putting a name and a story on the label. They’ve added perfume to expand their multi-sensory design, completing the APS experience as the consumer wears their brand—always in anticipation of the next hunt. The success of individual brands is in the scripting of the story, and of course in the creativity of design. But as we look back in history, wondering how certain silly fashions became all the rage—well, it was all in the story, and about belonging to the club.

You can apply these scripting elements to the dreams sold by lottery tickets and travel brochures, the stories behind handcrafted furniture and watches, and the illusions of joy offered by the the liquor and tobacco industries. For all the successful brands and products you look at, an equally successful script can be found in their marketing strategies. The element of scent is one of the most important factors, due to its emotional impact upon the memories and feelings of the consumer—bringing its essence of joy as the consumer encounters the product. It adds to the APS, incorporating a ritual sniff of the product, and puts a humanizing, radiant quality to the face of the brand. Incorporating all of the above elements, and immersing them into as many of the senses as possible, will work to strengthen your brand and the loyalty of your customer.

This is the multi-sensory century. This is not your father’s world where all it took to market a product was face-time and mind-share. There are too many products and too many choices for consumers today. We no longer have to merely know a lot about our customer, we actually have to know him. He has to look at our brand not as a choice amongst others, but as a personality, a possible friend, one with whom there is a possibility of having a relationship. We need to intrigue the customer, with depth, character, storyline, and dialogue. We are in the business of entertainment today. We need to view our branding strategies as a performance. We need to ask ourselves if we are looking for a long running performance, or a one-night stand.

We are in the business of offering a promise of joy. What joy does your brand bring to the customer? It doesn’t matter if your product comes in the form of wood screws, O-rings, paper clips, salt or sanitary supplies. Morton Salt and Charmin Tissue are great brand names. Morton’s story about a little girl is worth her salt, and Charmin offered a promise of joy with Mr. Whipple’s subtle message of soft tissue. The product category that you are in is not about to change, but the marketing, packaging, and scripting can make your product into a star performer.