ESSENTIAL BRAND MEANING
Touching smells, sniffing colours, tasting odours
A synaesthetic approach to fragrance in Market Research
Luigi Toiati & Alan Branthwaite
Abstract
- The experience of the two authors with synaesthesia in both clinical and market research environments has led to the formulation of this paper.
- Starting from the sensory relation with fragrance,examples will be shown to formulate a “synaesthetic model” to apply to qualitative research when studying the evolution of an existing brand, or one in the making.
- The paper is also for all those who are curious and creative by nature or profession and accept the challenge of a technique on the boundaries of alchemy and reason.
- Both scientific documentation and case-histories relevant to MR will be presented with particular attention to the “fragrance-flavour” dualism, mainly in the context of food.
- A product is examined, like a hologram, in the multiplicity of its sensorial experiences which form its final image- cultural and sensorial, perceptive, emotional.
- How do we make advertising to express the experience of an odoeur or flavour? How do we capture the unique tone and style of a scent and express it through its packaging?
This paper explains the science of synaesthesia to enable consumers to express their needs or ideals, and to express these experiences in marketing the brand.
Luigi Toiati
Focus, Italy
Luigi Toiati, co-founder and chairman of Focus SrL, Italy, is an internationally recognized qualitative marketing research consultant. His experience includes mass market, advertising, health and beauty, consumers products and food products. He counts amongst his clients: Procter & Gamble, IBM, Major Advertising Agencies (Saatchi & Saatchi, BGS D’Arcy, Publicis), Cartier, Wrangler, and many more.
Luigi is the Winner of AQR 2002 Prosper Riley Smith Award for the most innovative qualitative technique of the year, consisting in his “Tao Collage”, a semiotic grid to decode collages.
Prior to founding Focus SrL, Luigi served as qualitative consultant at ASM, Market Dynamics, RQ, Pragma, Mesomark. He also earned a degree in Sociology at Rome University, with a specialization in urban sociology. He taught urban sociology at the Architectural and Planning department at the same university. He also works as a sociologist in the Italian National Health Service, where he specialized in mental illness specifically consulting on synaesthesia in the elderly.
Alan Branthwaite
Ignition, UK
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