Senses

It’s Memorial Day Weekend, which means, if you haven’t already been inundated with emails and ads that feature grills and pools and the like, you’ll soon see it blanket your Instagram feed.

Part of that is driven by nostalgia, hitting on and chasing the highs from our memories.

Our emotions can drive purchasing behavior as we chase that nostalgia, and those purchases are often repeat purchases. But what drives those emotions in the first place?

A lot of things, sure, but in some cases, it can be our senses.

We got thinking about this, because yesterday, on our podcast, Alex was talking with Parker Olsen from Forij and the two ended up on the topic of hitting on packaging and how it can play with our senses to stand out.

The nostalgia that senses can build are pretty powerful. Consider:

• The way you could never get a Sunchip out of a bag without the whole neighborhood hearing

• The way you could always, without fail, twist off the top of an Oreo without disrupting the cream

• The way you’re hands get covered in orange dust when you eat Doritos

These are distinctive assets that create mental availability, and deliver an unfair advantage when it comes to driving retention.

Why are hot dogs and hamburgers synonymous with Memorial Day Weekend barbecues?

Because the sensory aspects—smell of grill smoke, the sound of the sizzle, the taste of the burger—all play a role in associating the cookout with the barbecue.

We often talk in marketing about creating emotion. We don’t often talk about the ways that emotions can be triggered .

Stepping back for a moment and thinking about what drives those emotions—and where your product can be levers they deliver those drives—can make all your marketing better.