Branding through the senses: how Apple experientially markets products

In today’s digital world, people want to understand your brand’s image and identity at their fingertips. Our senses are with us every moment of the day and the more senses an advertisement evokes, the more likely it is to raise awareness of and sell your product.

Here at ParadigmNEXT, our key focus is to tell your brand’s story. One way we do this is by utilizing experiential marketing which aims to create a memorable bond between consumers and your brand. Using the senses is a great way to experientially market your product. One fine example of a company utilizing this strategy is a brand we all know and love: Apple.

Sight

You may remember the original egg-shaped iMac computers. When they came out in color, Apple released a commercial which showed iMacs in bright colors of green, pink, blue, orange, and purple. The computers are seen spinning in several directions in a visually appealing way.

How about iPod commercials from the 2000s? These commercials had black silhouettes against brightly-colored backdrops. The silhouettes are seen dancing enthusiastically with headphones and their very own iPod. The choice to make the figures silhouettes removes their identity, which reduces distraction. The iPod ad is sharp, fun, and innovative, yet still simple.

Without doubt, strong and interesting visuals engage a consumer. Thus, for EVENTup, a company who helps consumers find spaces for their special occasions, ParadigmNEXT created a visually engaging website which prominently displays photos of their memorable-looking events. We also integrated their blog with multiple social media platforms to put the brand at peoples’ fingertips.

Taste

Apple’s brand name itself reminds us of food. Their signature Apple logo gleams on their products. In the iPhone 6s commercial showing their 4k video feature, a girl takes a video on her iPhone of someone chopping onions. The video is so crisp— it’s like you are in the same room!

Working with various clients from the hospitality industry, ParadigmNEXT made sure to evoke the taste factor; whether helping with the logo design for Hungry App and Chicago Waffles (Hungry App now has a logo that contains a set of silverware while Chicago Waffles incorporates a waffle into their logo), or putting together galleries that show consumers what their experience may be at Petergof Chicago.

When designing the website for Sugar Hills Bakery, ParadigmNEXT looked to use as much imagery as possible. The homepage features a large slideshow of some of their most beautiful and delicious creations. As well, we included a gallery on each page, highlighting all that Sugar Hills Bakery can do. Sugar Hills Bakery wanted to keep their fans and followers in the loop, so we integrated a Twitter feed and linked both their Twitter and Facebook pages. The final result came to be one of our most stunning sites.

Sound

One of the most powerful ways to engage the senses is to connect to memories through music. When we encounter a stimuli that we’ve encountered before, our mind connects the present to our past memory. The above-mentioned iPod silhouette commercial uses the song “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet. The iMac colors commercial uses “She’s a Rainbow” by The Rolling Stones to resonate with customers memories.

Similarly, for one of our clients, Heard Capital, we put together a thoughtful website video introduction. The video shows cityscape panoramic views while the audio is inspiring, deliberate, and consistent with the client’s brand image.

Touch

Apple successfully sells their smooth touch-screen surfaces in their marketing. In the iPad 2 commercial, the viewer is first captivated by a zoomed-in video of a person’s finger tapping an iPad 2. The 30-second ad continues to show close-up visuals of people tapping, typing, and using a variety of fun apps, leaving the viewer to wonder what touching an iPad 2 may feel like.

Without doubt, Apple’s marketing strategy is simply genius. Regardless of your company size, you can employ these strategies to make sure you are front and center. Take a look at our portfolio and see how we tell stories about our client’s brands.