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Touching brands : the effects of multisensory packaging design on brand and product perception and evaluation

Heiltjes, S. (2014) Touching brands : the effects of multisensory packaging design on brand and product perception and evaluation.

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Abstract:Research objective: Leading brands increasingly adopt sensory marketing, a strategy focused on the engagement of multiple senses in the consumer environment. The rising field of multisensory experience lacked insight in the way multisensory marketing strategies could contribute to packaging design. A hypothesized framework of packaging design was developed to underlie an effective multisensory packaging strategy for the beverage category. This framework hypothesized that inclusion of brand or product congruent stimuli in packaging design would affect brand and product perception and evaluation in a favorable direction. Two studies investigated how multisensory packaging does affect brand and product perception and evaluation by testing the validity of the hypothesized framework within the beer category. Study 1: In an online survey 42 participants evaluated five images of beer bottles on a list with the most common brand values and taste descriptors among beer brands and on tactile, auditive and olfactive stimuli. The study confirmed that consumers hold a semantic associative network of relationships among beer brand values, taste descriptors and sensory stimuli which makes them perceive certain brand values and taste descriptors as matching or mismatching with specific sensory stimuli. Study 2: In an experiment was investigated how brand and product congruent tactile attributes of a beer bottle design affected brand and product perception and evaluation. 90 participants evaluated two beer bottle designs of distinctive brands which differed in weight (heavy vs. light) and texture (rough vs. smooth) on tactile perceptions, brand values, taste descriptors and brand and product evaluation. The study demonstrated that 1) tactile stimuli in beer bottle design affect brand and product perception and evaluation; 2) the facilitating role of semantic congruency works in some, but not all cases and sometimes a facilitating effect of semantically incongruent stimuli was found; and 3) individual characteristics (gender and age) moderated the effect of tactile stimuli on perception and evaluation. Conclusion: A framework of multisensory packaging design was developed which implied that: 1) sensory stimuli in packaging design affect product and brand perception and evaluation; 2) consumers hold semantic associative networks of stimuli that match or mismatch with brands and products; 3) semantically congruent, but also incongruent stimuli in packaging design may facilitate brand and product perception and evaluation; and 4) individual characteristics may moderate the effects of multisensory packaging. Based on these insights a multisensory packaging strategy is formulated for brand owners within the beverage category.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:05 communication studies
Programme:Communication Studies MSc (60713)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/66051
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