Hey there, sensory specialist,
As you go about your day, your choices are being influenced in more ways than you might think.
Marketers often use something called sensory priming to subtly alter your behaviour.
So what is it and how does it work?
Sensory priming is the use of visual, auditory, olfactory, taste and tactile cues to shape your behaviour.
These cues affect each of your five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste and touch) below your level of conscious awareness, meaning you don’t realise you are being influenced. Sneaky, eh?
Below are some real-world examples.
1. Visual Priming (Sight)
Any form of visual element, including colours, shapes, and fonts, signals different things to your brain.
For example, luxury fashion brands like Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton use specific design cues and fonts that prime feelings of exclusivity. Their advertising tends to use bold photography with minimal typography and plenty of white space.
And a whopping 80% use a serif typeface in their logo. You won’t see Comic Sans used anywhere here!
2. Auditory Priming (Sound)
Specific sounds can be used to create desired emotional states.
Stockmann is a Finnish department store known for its ‘Hullut Päivät’ (Crazy Days) sales that happen twice a year.
During these events, they play fast-paced, circus-like music throughout the store to create urgency and excitement, encouraging shoppers to move quickly and spend more.
Many luxury car brands employ sound engineers to design the sound of their vehicles, including the satisfying ‘thunk’ of a door closing. A solid ‘thunk’ primes perceptions of safety and quality before you even turn a wheel.
Finally, research at Oxford University has also shown that music can be used to alter the flavour of food.
3. Olfactory Priming (Smell)
Smell is a powerful sense because it’s the most linked to memory and emotion, given its direct connection to the limbic system.
The clothing brand Abercrombie & Fitch has spent over $3 million on scent-spraying machines that circulate its ‘Fierce’ fragrance throughout its flagship stores.
This distinctive smell, combined with loud music and dimmed interiors, contributes to the overall brand experience.
Singapore Airlines employs a similar strategy using its signature scent ‘Stefan Floridian Waters’ in its cabins and lounges. This scent, introduced in 1990, primes passengers to associate the airline with luxury and comfort, enhancing the overall travel experience.
4. Tactile Priming (Touch)
The way things feel can influence your perception.
In one experiment by Ackerman, Nocera & Bargh (2010), participants holding a heavier clipboard judged job candidates as more serious and competent than those holding a light clipboard. Weight primes ideas of importance and gravitas.
5. Gustatory Priming (Taste)
The way something interacts with your taste buds can alter your behaviour.
In a study by Eskine, Kacinik & Prinz (2011), participants given a bitter drink judged moral transgressions more harshly than those drinking water or sweet drinks. You know, like a bad taste in the mouth.
Have you come across any other great sensory priming examples? We’d love to hear them.
Big love,
Chris & the 42courses team x
