(Google.com, 2016)
Culture can be defined as “a
society’s personality “and “the accumulation of shared meanings, rituals, norms
and traditions” It can shaped our identities as individuals (Solomon, 2015). Culture influences can affect the preference,
habits, values and thinking of the consumers. For example, people who are
living in western countries or eastern countries will also have different lifestyles, cultures, eating and beliefs.
Nowadays, as many brands are trying
to build more emotional relationships with their
customers, it has become increasingly important to consider how they fit into
their target audience’s lifestyles. It is because understanding of consumer
behaviour can be beneficial for the brand to define what products and services are suitable for the
consumers. Through this research on consumer behaviour, it can effectively to build up the brand equity,
such as perceived quality, brand awareness and brand image. However, entertainment and culture is the most logical choice for brands to
engage with their customers. Roderick (2015) states that “modern consumers are looking for an enhanced experience, not to be
force fed marketing gobbledygook. The smart brands are the ones that understand
how they can add value, outside of financial value; to the entertainment and
culture platforms they are aligning themselves with,” In
order to enhance the consumer experience, offering the culture elements into the festival and some events can contribute to the customer attain a greater understanding of
different culture. Brands can also base on those culture elements to attract
more international customers, thereby advancing the brand awareness and brand
image in the market.
References
Roderick, L.
(2015). Could appointing a ‘head of culture’ boost your
brand?. Retrieved from: http://www.marketingweek.com/2015/11/09/could-appointing-a-head-of-culture-boost-your-brand/.
Solomon, M. R. (2015). Consumer behavior:
buying, having, and being (11th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Perception is the process by which
sensations are selected, organised and interpret (Solomon, 2015).
Sensation refers to the immediate response
of our sensory receptors, such as eyes, ears, nose, mouth, fingers and skin to
basic stimuli ( e.g.: light, colour, sound, odor and texture) (Solomon, 2015).
In sensory marketing, there are several
human senses can help us to dictate what appeals to us, the followings are
vision, smell, hearing, touch and taste. Through this sensation, customers will
receive different sensory stimuli in their brain. They may see a colourful
picture, hear the music, feel a fluffy jumper, taste the spicy Thai curry or
smell a perfume. Therefore, understanding the perception can effectively
influence the design of a product, service or experience as well as to help people
to understand how marketers use symbols to create meaning. Here are some examples of sensory
marketing.
Vision
Colour is one the factors that influence
the human emotions. Through different colour, it will affect different feelings,
reactions, mood and experiences of customers, such as red stimulates appetite
and blue relaxes. According to Cherry (2015), some of ancient cultures, such as
Egyptians and Chinese will use colour Psychology as therapy to treat the
illness. In this treatment:
- Red was used to stimulate the body and mind and
to increase circulation.
- Yellow was thought
to stimulate the nerves and purify the body.
- Orange was used to
heal the lungs and to increase energy levels.
- Blue was believed to soothe illnesses and treat
pain.
- Indigo shades were
thought to alleviate skin problems.
Therefore, colours also have the impact on treatment
which can help people to recognise the colours of the treatment.Furthermore, colours
also have different meanings in different cultures. For instance, red colours
in Chinese culture which means good fortune and joy, especially in the Chinese
festivals. Red can be found in everywhere during Chinese New Year, such as red
envelope and red couplets which symbolizes good luck. However, red will
be banned to use at funerals as it is a traditionally symbolic colour of
happiness.
Smell
Smell is one of the powerful stimuli that affect the
human’s brain to receive the sensory. It also has a huge evocative power of
memories and experiences over the years. For instance, every time when we enter
to McDonald’s or KFC in every country, there is a same smell in every McDonald’s
and KFC. It is because McDonald’s and KFC have the unique way to make their
food which can ensure every consumer can get the same experience and same
perception in their shop. Therefore, McDonald’s and KFC are using the smell
perception to evoke the customer’s memory or remind them the shop that they
visited before in the other country.
Hearing
Music is another factor that affects customers’
feeling and behaviours in hearing. Nowadays, most of the shop or restaurants
are using music or other sounds to influence the atmosphere of their shop. This
can be the sound symbolism of the shop that affects the customer to come up
with brand names pay attention. For instance, Samsung and Apple will have their
unique ringtone of an incoming call. These kinds of ringtone can help the
customer to evoke the memory of the brand and it can also contribute to a
consumption experience. Moreover, vision, smell and hearing are the three main
senses that marketing will focus on. Through these three senses, it can help the
marketers understand more how these kinds of senses can appeal to customers.
Thusly, it can help them to design a suitable product, service or experience to
customers.
References
Solomon, M. R. (2015). Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and
being(Eleventh;Global; ed.). Boston: Pearson.
