Managing sensory expectations concerning products and brands: Capitalizing on the potential of sound and shape symbolism

Abstract

In this article, the evidence demonstrating the existence of a variety of robust crossmodal correspondences between both sounds (phonetic speech sounds, tones, and other parameters of musical expression) and shapes, and the sensory attributes (specifically the taste, flavor, aroma, and oral-somatosensory attributes) of various foods and beverages is reviewed. The available research now clearly suggests that marketers can enhance their consumers' product experiences by ensuring that the sound symbolism of the brand name, as well as any shape symbolism of/on the labeling, and even the very shape of the packaging itself, sets up the right (i.e., congruent) product-related sensory expectations in the mind of the consumer. In this review, the rapidly-growing literature on the topic of sound and shape symbolism is critically evaluated. Potential caveats, limitations, and problems of interpretation with previous studies are highlighted. The question of whether this approach to sensory marketing should be considered as implicit (or functionally subconscious) is also addressed. Finally, some of the relative strengths and weaknesses of this approach to modulating a consumer's product-related expectations (relative to various other approaches) are considered.

That Sounds Sweet: Using Cross‐Modal Correspondences to Communicate Gustatory Attributes

“…Second, the present findings contribute to the related literature on crossmodal correspondences by providing additional evidence of shared underlying properties between the auditory and gustatory modality (Knöferle & Spence, 2012;Spence, 2012). Finally, the present research informs the ongoing debate about the extent to which crossmodal correspondences are "strong" (innate and automatic) or "weak" (learned and culture-specific) by providing evidence for auditory-gustatory correspondences in a non-Western sample.…”

“…The question of what mechanisms drive the ability to match auditory and gustatory dimensions has not been empirically answered, although a range of potential drivers has been discussed in earlier research (e.g., Knöferle & Spence, 2012;Spence, 2011Spence, , 2012. In particular, the extent to which cultural aspects shape crossmodal correspondences between sounds and tastes is unclear.…”

“…Alternatively, auditory-gustatory associations have been proposed to stem from embodied learning processes. For example, the mapping of sweet taste and high pitch may be based on the innate orofacial approach/avoidance gestures and associated speech sounds with which human infants respond to sweet versus bitter tastes (Knöferle & Spence, 2012;Scherer, 1986;Spence, 2012). Typical reactions to bitter tastes include protruding the tongue outwards and downwards, resulting in lower-frequency speech sounds when exhaling, while typical reactions to sweet tastes involve outwards and upwards tongue positions, which result in higher-frequency sounds.…”

“…Put differently, many crossmodal correspondences may simply reflect statistical (from the perspective of the consumer: learned) correlations between sensory features found in nature or the marketplace (Fiebelkorn, Foxe, & Molholm, 2010Spence, 2012). For example, the fact that people associate larger objects with lower-pitched sounds, or higher-pitched sounds with smaller objects can be explained by the fact that in nature larger resonance bodies (e.g., in objects or animals) generally generate lower pitched sounds than smaller resonance bodies.…”

Touching words is not enough: How visual experience influences haptic–auditory associations in the “Bouba–Kiki” effect

“…In the West, for example, brands of carbonated drinks often feature angular motifs (e.g. Spence, 2012;Spence & Gallace, 2011). If the lack of such visual associations in the Himba's environment explains their unexpected mapping choices, it is possible, then, that visual associations influenced the auditory-haptic/kinaesthetic or auditory-tactile connections cited in the studies by Gallace et al and Fontana, even Visual conditioning may not only be determined geographically.…”