Special Session: Brands through our Senses: An Abstract

Sensory branding is an emergent topic in the field of branding and has gained growing interest among researchers and practitioners especially in the last decade. The growing interest in this field is visible in the growing number of articles published in scientific journals and conference papers presented worldwide. Practitioners seem to be interested in the area and see it as part of their reality and find information on sensory branding very relevant to their everyday work. In an attempt to educate practitioners in sensory branding, the business press is increasingly stressing the significance of human senses in building strong brands and engaging consumers in multiple encounters. The nature of the academic research in sensory branding is evolving and extending its interest. The first empirical studies that have been conducted in the field of sensory marketing focused on consumer psychology and sensory perception. More recently a growing number of researchers are moving toward a more holistic perspective, by investigating how the five senses impact on brand building and how they can elicit strong and passionate feelings toward brands. Recent research appreciates that sensory branding is relevant to a number of different sectors and marketing practices and cannot be overlooked. Building on this growing interest both from a theoretical and a managerial perspective, the proposed session in sensory branding intends to (a) promote a broad discussion within the topic, (b) present new studies in the field of sensory branding, and (c) identify future research avenues aiming at stimulating more conceptual and empirical studies within the field. The special session is comprised of four relevant topics in the field of sensory branding, namely, (1) sensory place branding, (2) store atmospherics, (3) sensory luxury branding, and (4) sensory communication. The first paper is entitled “Branding Places: developing a sensorial brand identity model” and will be presented by TC Melewar, Clarinda Rodrigues, and Charles Dennis. The second paper is entitled “Store atmospherics” and will be presented by Charles Spence. The third paper is entitled “Enhancing sensory branding in luxury through visual design” and will be presented by Aurélie Hemonnet and Pierre Valette-Florence. Finally, the fourth paper is entitled “Challenges of exploring the perception and impact of sensory communication” and will be presented by Klaus-Peter Wiedmann, Janina Haase, and Jannick Bettels.

References Available Upon Request