Intersensory Congruence: The Symphony of Your Brand

Recent research highlights that brand attitude—defined as the semi-unconscious overall evaluation of a product or brand—is more crucial than merely having a pre-existing emotional connection with the brand (Gao & Shen, 2024). This significance becomes especially clear at the point of sale, whether physical or virtual, where the purchase decision is made. While emotions play a critical role, the emotional impact of the moment, driven primarily by a congruent use of touchpoints, often prevails.

Our senses are designed to function in harmony. The brain organizes information from various sensory channels cooperatively to enhance the likelihood that objects and events are detected quickly, identified correctly, and responded to appropriately (Calvert et al., 2004). The brain instinctively favors products and brands that present a consistent image across various touchpoints—products and brands that are congruent with their core emotional and cognitive associations.

This insight is striking because it suggests that consistency across various brand touchpoints—such as product characteristics (flavor, ingredients, packaging), colors, fonts, messaging, and shapes—can surpass the impact of brands that have forged an emotional bond with consumers but fail to communicate it cohesively.

Incongruence at the point of sale—the most critical moment of truth—can jeopardize an entire marketing effort. The same applies to all interactions with the shopper and consumer. For multisensory interactions to be valuable, the various sensory signals must be coordinated within the brain (King et al., 2004). A mismatch often produces no benefit and may even leave consumers with an unfavorable impression of the brand (Gilbert, 2008). For cues to integrate into a meaningful whole, they must be structured and integrated in advance. When done correctly, the impact exceeds the sum of individual sensory responses, enriching the consumer experience and driving impulse purchases.

Multisensory Integration of Emotion – The Science of Success

One of the brain's primary functions is to spot gaps. Discordant sensory inputs constrain attention and distract the brain’s processes, much like a typo disrupts the flow of an argument. The anterior cingulate cortex, implicated in processing congruency or conflict between stimuli, is also strongly associated with human motivation and emotional processes (de Gelder et al., 2004). Stimuli carrying emotional information are often perceived unconsciously, though they can later be integrated into more cognitive processes.

Congruent cues provide the most economical and unified snapshot of the world. When matched together, they create streams of compound stimuli that enhance response and increase purchasing behavior.

The Great Opportunity

Fragmented distribution and media channels, along with evolving consumer desires, make achieving consistency more challenging. How can brands consistently bring a new positioning to life? How can brand assets be controlled and optimized efficiently? The competition among brands will increasingly hinge on the accuracy of understanding brand cognitive associations and, most importantly, the precision of consistency across various touchpoints as perceived by the brain.

As our senses are designed to function in concert, shaping the brain’s overall perception of a brand, the design of touchpoints should be managed using advanced, interdisciplinary tools that align stimuli and senses with the brand’s core emotional and cognitive associations. These intersensory tools can help structure sensory inputs around the right emotional impulses derived from the brand’s core associations.

Translating Brand Essence into Emotional Triggers

How does this work in practice? A brain algorithm, developed through extensive research, measures the motives driving categories, brands, ingredients, and more, helping reconnect with the consumer at a deeper human level. Strategically, this methodology moves from consumer typologies and stated needs to activating the right neurobiological motives. Tactically, it aligns all brand ingredients and expressive media according to their neural impact on the brain, connecting system 1 and system 2, reality and imagination, function and emotion.

From Ingredients to Embodiments

By bridging the consumer’s cognitive stamp in every decision—from strategic brand positioning to creative execution—brands go beyond mere consistency to embrace a human personality through biology and affective neuroscience. By capturing category and brand emotions within flavors, fragrances, materials, colors, and sounds, product ingredients become strategic tools in brand communication. For example, a premium beverage brand might use unique syrups not just to flavor drinks but to evoke notions of playfulness, exploration, or creativity.

Packaging, too, becomes more than a functional necessity; it embodies the brand’s identity. A bottle with harsh angles may convey defiance, while straight lines suggest purposefulness and dedication—messages that deeply influence consumer choices.

From Supplying Products to Engineering Brand Experiences

The opportunity for brand owners to align all touchpoints and achieve brand symphony is clear. However, there is also a significant opportunity for B2B companies providing the ingredients of brand success—food ingredient companies, aroma companies, textile and material suppliers. Traditionally, these companies have focused on delivering products that meet functional needs. However, as consumer expectations evolve, brands are looking for partners who can help them create unforgettable brand experiences.

For instance, packaging is no longer just about protecting a product; it’s about making a first impression, evoking emotions, and setting the stage for the entire brand experience. Similarly, food ingredients are no longer just about flavor; they’re about creating a sensory journey that aligns with the brand’s identity and connects with consumers on a deeper level.

Case Studies: Enhancing Client Brands

Consider how the world’s largest packaging company transitioned from simply offering products to engineering emotions for their clients’ brands. By focusing on intersensory congruence, they provided packaging solutions that not only protected the product but also enhanced the emotional connection between the consumer and the brand. The materials, textures, and even the sound of the packaging were all designed to resonate with the brand’s identity, creating a more immersive and emotionally engaging experience.

Similarly, a leading food ingredient company shifted its approach from providing basic flavor solutions to crafting flavor concepts that align with their clients’ brand narratives. By carefully considering how taste, aroma, and even the appearance of ingredients contribute to the overall brand experience, they helped their clients create products that are not only delicious but also deeply connected to their brand stories.

How We Can Help Your Clients Succeed

At BRAND AVIATORS, we specialize in helping companies like yours become indispensable partners to the brands you serve. We guide you in transforming your food ingredients into essential elements of brand success by ensuring they contribute to a cohesive, multisensory brand experience.

Here’s how we do it:

1. Understanding Brand Essence: We work with you to understand your clients’ brand identities and the core emotions and sensory cues they want to evoke in their consumers.
2. Harmonizing Touchpoints: We help you align your products with your clients’ brand goals, ensuring that the ingredients and materials you provide reinforce the desired sensory and emotional experience.
3. Enhancing Brand Narratives: By leveraging our expertise in intersensory congruence, we assist you in developing products that go beyond functionality to become integral parts of your clients’ brand stories, helping them create more memorable and impactful consumer experiences.

Conclusion: Becoming a Partner in Brand Success

In today’s marketplace, the most successful companies are those that help their clients—the brands they serve—create powerful, emotionally resonant consumer experiences. By focusing on capturing your client’s brand flavor personality, you help your client tell their brand story in a congruent way that is automatically authenticated by the shopper’s brain, dramatically influencing purchase decisions and improving the consumer experience.

In this way, you can transform your offerings into key elements of brand success, ensuring that every touchpoint works together to tell a cohesive and compelling brand story.

At BRAND AVIATORS, we’re here to help you achieve this transformation. By partnering with us, you can ensure that the products you provide not only meet functional needs but also play a crucial role in creating unforgettable consumer experiences for your clients’ brands.

#brandstrategy #foodingredients #b2bmarketing

REFERENCES

Calvert, G. A., C. Spence, and B. E. Stein, eds. 2004. “Introduction.”?Handbook of Multisensory Processes. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press.

De Gelder, B., J. Vroomen, and G. Portois. 2004. “Multisensory perception of affect, its time course, and its neural basis.” In?Handbook of Multisensory Processes.

Gao, F., and Shen Z, April 2024 Sensory Brand Experience and Brand Loyalty: Mediators and Gender Differences, Acta Psychologica, Volume 244.

Gilbert, A. 2008.?What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life. New York: Crown Publishers.

Haugtvedt, C. 2002. Cited in Clay, R. A. “Advertising as science.” 2002.?Monitor on Psychology?33(9): 39.

King, A. J., T. P. Doubell, and I. Skaliora. 2004. “Epigenetic factors that align visual and auditory maps in ferret midbrain.” In?Handbook of Multisensory Processes.

Pantidos, C. 2018.?Living Brands: How Biology and Neuroscience Shape Consumer Behaviour and Brand Desirability. London: Lid Publishing.