Marketers, brand owners, and business owners are always on the alert for fresh ways to captivate their audience and ensure their brand leaves a lasting imprint. But discovering new and impactful ideas can feel like a challenge once the usual tactics have been tried. If you’re in that boat, don’t worry – we’re about to reveal a powerful strategy to deliver an all-around brand experience that’s truly unforgettable.
In this blog, we will be looking into sensory marketing and how it’s one of the best ways to attract and keep customers hooked from all sides, giving them a 360-degree brand experience.
So let’s dive into everything you need to know about sensory marketing.
Simply put, sensory marketing is a strategy used by brands that taps into the five senses to create unforgettable experiences.
With the faculties for sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch in mind, brands come up with content or material that appeals to these senses.
It’s here that a successful marketing strategy lies because it provides a 360-degree brand experience, which hooks consumers, making them curious and loyal. But there is also a slight problem with full sensory marketing.
We think it’s good to know about everything relevant to the subject before you go headfirst and use this strategy. So we’re presenting the problem of sensory marketing as well.
So here goes: The problem with sensory marketing is that not all brands and businesses can use all these faculties for marketing purposes. Take, for example, a food business. It would be easy to employ a majority of these senses to promote that sort of business, what with food consumption being a very engaging sensory activity.
But what about a tech brand? It’s perfectly accurate to say that a tech brand can’t fully employ all the human senses for its promotional campaigns.
Find the right type of senses that work for your brand and as well as the design types, design formats, and how you present your advertising. Also, it’s not just about visuals anymore; it’s about designing for feeling. Take Apple’s marketing: the sleek layout, cool-to-the-touch aluminum, original sounds, minimal displays, and the gentle lighting in stores are all designed to feel premium.
But it doesn’t stop there. The same feel is there in every one of their creatives. You’re not just looking at products or advertising pieces, you’re immersed in a sensory experience that whispers, “This is quality.”
This is evident in how the iPhone 16 introduction video looked:
That emotional reaction? It’s totally intentional. This is probably why video is a great sensory marketing strategy and why 89% of consumers want brands to use more video content. Because it engages more senses than just sight, right?
Similarly, sensory marketing done right doesn’t just sell – it sticks, much like what Apple has achieved throughout the years.
Furthermore, what makes sensory marketing so powerful is that it bypasses logic and goes straight to emotion. Design isn’t just decoration here – it’s strategy. Think of texture in packaging, ambient sound in a video, or even motion design that feels smooth and satisfying, like the above iPhone 16 intro video.
These details may seem small, but together they create a vibe your audience can’t quite explain – but can definitely feel. And when a brand can successfully and appropriately make someone feel something? That’s where true loyalty begins.
Let’s talk more about how using sensory marketing in a 360-degree strategy can benefit brands and businesses.
When people engage multiple senses, they’re more likely to form emotional bonds with a brand. For example, a warm color palette and soft textures in packaging can make a product feel comforting or luxurious.
Sensory cues stick in memory longer. A distinct scent, jingle, or tactile element can help customers remember a brand even if they forget the ad or campaign.
Well-designed sensory experiences, like the clean visuals and satisfying clicks in a UI, can make a product feel more premium and justify a higher price.
In competitive industries, sensory design adds a layer of uniqueness. A brand that feels different will stand out, even if the product isn’t radically new.
When people enjoy interacting with a brand, whether it’s unboxing, browsing, or scrolling, they’re more likely to come back. Sensory elements turn basic experiences into something memorable.
And so let us prove these points with some real-life examples of brands using sensory marketing as a strategy in their brand’s expansion.
Rhode is a makeup brand founded by Hailey Bieber, an American model and businesswoman, among other things. She hit a gold mine when she discovered the power of sensory marketing for her makeup brand.
Rhode’s marketing of makeup products uses images or footage of food. These visual cues are translated into a deeper sensory experience within the consumer.
As you can see from the images below, Rhode’s tactic employs more than one of the senses and provides the beholder a sensory experience of how the makeup would smell or even taste. It creates interest and urges purchase decisions, which is what sensory marketing is expected to do.
This type of sensory marketing promotes user-generated content, too. Take a look at this video by a YouTuber rating these lip balms for how they taste:
Another makeup brand exploring sensory marketing, especially from a food angle, is NYX with their Glaze tints. NYX didn’t just settle for food images or smell and taste. They went one step further and made the packaging also reminiscent of a glazed donut. They’re using a couple more senses to keep consumers invested and interested.
Everybody loves a glazed donut, and NYX taps into that joy with a product that looks, feels, and even smells like a sweet treat. This playful, food-inspired design doesn’t just grab attention – it creates an emotional response. It feels indulgent, familiar, and satisfying, which keeps the product top of mind and encourages repeat use. It’s a clever way to turn makeup into a full-on sensory experience.
Let’s now shift our direction to another brand, but this time to an actual food brand. Now, what makes this brand so important in the grand scheme of sensory marketing is that it unintentionally advocated for using a whole bunch of senses that are now part of its brand attributes.
Let us explain.
Pringles are enjoyed by young and old. The sensation of opening a new Pringles tub by popping the lid open and then tearing away the paper is a very sensory, involving process. And then smelling the crisps and proceeding to grab one that feels crinkly and then biting into it to hear that crisp sound is a delightful experience. It’s a different strategy, but altogether super effective.
Have a look and also listen:
IKEA is one of those brands that takes sensory marketing quite seriously. And we’re happy to present this example to you because there are ways to create a sensory experience without involving food like the above examples.
As we discussed under the problem of sensory marketing section, not all brands can make use of every one of the 5 senses. And IKEA teaches us to use the senses that make “sense” for your brand and its offerings.
If you’ve been in an IKEA store, you’ll see that the store layouts are such a visually pleasing sight. But what separates IKEA apart is that you won’t find signs like “do not sit” or “do not touch”, which allows customers to fully revel in the concept spaces and experience how it would feel to own what’s on show.
If we’re going into specifics, a few years ago, IKEA executed one of the most sensory print ads you’ll ever come across:
IKEA’s Sömnig campaign took print advertising to a new level by creating a magazine ad that actually helps you sleep. Launched in the UAE, the ad was infused with lavender-scented ink and featured a built-in white noise speaker. Readers could tear it out, place it by their bedside, and use it as a sleep aid, mirroring IKEA’s commitment to better sleep through thoughtful design. It was a clever blend of sensory marketing and utility, turning a simple ad into a mini sleep experience.
Talk about sensory marketing done right!
Let’s wrap up by looking at some tips to consider if you want to implement this strategy.
If you’re planning to try sensory marketing, the key is to start simple and be thoughtful about it. Pick one or two senses that really make sense for your brand and build from there.
You don’t need to overwhelm people – just create small moments that feel natural and consistent. Make sure those sensory touches carry through across your packaging, products, creatives, general content, and spaces so the experience feels connected.
Don’t be afraid to test things out either. See what your audience responds to and adjust along the way. Sensory marketing isn’t about being flashy – it’s about creating a vibe people can connect with, even if they don’t realize it right away.
And unless you can come up with a super innovative idea like IKEA, video remains a great sensory marketing option to explore, owing to how it can engage many senses.
Bottom line, when done right, sensory marketing makes your brand feel more real, more memorable, and way more engaging.
