The Future of Sensory Marketing

As we pointed out in the first chapter of The FADS Marketing book, sensory marketing is not new. The ways in which marketers capitalize on more than 50 years of research to manipulate our senses and make an impression on our buying behaviors will likely never change. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic though, more and more marketers have had to get creative in how they stimulate the senses as in-person opportunities decreased and digital business increased.

Without the ability to physically stimulate our senses with Smell-O-Vision, scent bubbles, or lickable screens, brands that rely on sensory marketing are getting a crash course in some of the ways to reach audiences online with tactics they may not have had to try before but will certainly play a role in the future of marketing.

Consumers will no doubt be excited about returning to in-person experiences, but even when they do, the middle path will once again win out with the need to create consistency across channels.