Effective advertising should include multiple sensory attributes of the product

Posted - October 4, 2009

New study on advertising :All Senses Works Best

By O.W.N. News Network

Time to start showcasing the texture of your food, the pop of the can as it opens, and its attractive appearance, according to “The Effects of Advertising Copy on Sensory Thoughts and Perceived Taste”, recently published in the Journal of Consumer Research. The study, done by Ryan S. Elder and Dr. Aradnha Krishna, used three separate experiments to show that talking about the five senses surrounding a food experience was much more effective than just focusing on taste alone. The study was done at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, where Mr. Elder is a doctoral student of marketing and Dr. Krishna is a professor of marketing.

While smell is a natural complement to taste, the researchers also recommend including all of the other senses. Marketing a food product works best when the product is presented as an immersive experience, where the client can experience the sounds, smells, sights, and physical feel of a product in addition to the taste.

The study included other factors, such as distraction from the product and the effects of distraction on the product experience. In one of the three experiments used, both sets of consumers were simply given white popcorn in a plastic cup. One set was given a short test to do before reading the ad and tasting the popcorn, while the other was not given the same test. The two groups were split further into a group that were given a multiple-sensory ad to read before tasting the popcorn, while the other was given a single-sense ad to read. The interesting finding of this particular experiment was that those who were distracted prior to viewing the multiple-sense ad and eating the popcorn reported a more favourable taste test result than the set that were given the test and just the single input ad to read.

The authors conclusion of the study: “Despite the conventional wisdom that taste is composed of multiple sensory inputs, advertising within the food and beverage industry rarely addresses perceptions beyond taste. The results from our studies suggest that advertising should include multiple sensory attributes of the products as this has a significant impact on perceptions of the product. These findings are particularly relevant for the food industry, including packaged goods and restaurants, as it continues to spend billions of dollars in advertising the taste of food, one of our most pleasurable and sensory experiences.”

This has interesting implications for the organic food industry, with potentially a more immersive experience to sell than other food products .Focusing on other senses besides taste might just be the magic ad bullet that most of us are looking for.

The study is available for purchase at this URL: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/605327 or through purchasing the Journal of Consumer Research, February 2010 print edition.