Short answer

Designers should focus on creating holistic sensory experiences that evoke positive emotions, as this is a powerful pathway to building strong brand equity.

Field: User-Centred Design
Source: Journal of Product & Brand Management (2017)
Method: Quantitative research using structural equation modeling.
Sample: 1,390 participants
Evidence: Strong effect

A positive sensory brand experience and consumer involvement significantly enhance brand equity, primarily by fostering emotional consumer brand engagement. This user-centred design research insight is drawn from a 2017 study published in Journal of Product & Brand Management. Using Quantitative research using structural equation modeling. with 1,390 participants, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Designers should focus on creating holistic sensory experiences that evoke positive emotions, as this is a powerful pathway to building strong brand equity.

Study

User-Centred DesignHigh ImpactStrong effect

Sensory Brand Experiences Drive Brand Equity Through Emotional Engagement

A positive sensory brand experience and consumer involvement significantly enhance brand equity, primarily by fostering emotional consumer brand engagement.

Journal of Product & Brand Management · 2017

Key Findings

01Sensory brand experience and consumer involvement directly influence cognitive, emotional, and behavioral consumer brand engagement.
02Involvement, sensory brand experience, and consumer brand engagement collectively explain over 50% of the variance in brand equity.
03Emotional engagement emerged as the most significant driver of overall consumer brand engagement.

Application

Design takeaway

Designers should focus on creating holistic sensory experiences that evoke positive emotions, as this is a powerful pathway to building strong brand equity.

How to apply

When designing a product or brand, consider how each sensory aspect (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste) can be leveraged to create a cohesive and emotionally engaging experience for the user.

Project actions

01When researching user needs, explore their sensory preferences and emotional responses to existing products.
02Consider how different materials, textures, sounds, and even scents can contribute to the overall user experience and brand perception.

Method & Evidence

AimTo investigate how sensory brand experiences and consumer involvement influence brand equity, both directly and indirectly through various dimensions of consumer brand engagement.

MethodQuantitative research using structural equation modeling.

ProcedureA survey was conducted with customers of a Finnish tableware brand, collecting data on their sensory brand experiences, involvement, and brand engagement. The collected data was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling to determine the relationships between these constructs and brand equity.

Sample1,390 participants

ContextConsumer product branding, specifically tableware.

Variables

IV["Sensory brand experience","Consumer involvement"]

DV["Brand equity","Cognitive consumer brand engagement","Emotional consumer brand engagement","Behavioral consumer brand engagement"]

CV["Brand type (Finnish tableware)","Customer base (Facebook users)"]

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

+Large sample size providing statistical power.
+Use of advanced statistical modeling (SEM) to analyze complex relationships.

Limitations

It can be challenging to isolate the impact of individual sensory elements, and user responses can be subjective and vary greatly.

Reliability & validity

The study likely employed established scales for measuring constructs, contributing to reliability. The use of SEM helps establish the validity of the proposed model.

Think critically

To what extent can a brand's sensory experience compensate for functional shortcomings in building brand equity?

Design Principles

"Design for emotional resonance through multi-sensory engagement to cultivate brand loyalty and equity."

Designers can create more impactful and memorable brand interactions by focusing on multi-sensory elements. Understanding how these experiences translate into emotional connections is crucial for building lasting brand loyalty and equity.

What This Means for Your Design

Making a brand feel good through senses and making people care about it makes them like the brand more, especially if they feel an emotional connection.

How to use in your project

1.Reference this study when discussing how user experience, particularly sensory aspects and emotional connection, contributes to the success and equity of a designed product.

Add to My Project

Quick Cite

Paragraph starter

Research indicates that a well-crafted sensory brand experience, coupled with user involvement, significantly enhances brand equity by fostering emotional consumer brand engagement. This suggests that design decisions impacting tactile, visual, and auditory elements can directly influence user connection and brand loyalty.

Source

Journal of Product & Brand Management

The effect of sensory brand experience and involvement on brand equity directly and indirectly through consumer brand engagement

journal · 2017

View source

Questions About This Research

What does the research say about sensory brand experiences drive brand equity through emotional engagement?: Designers should focus on creating holistic sensory experiences that evoke positive emotions, as this is a powerful pathway to building strong brand equity. Evidence: Journal of Product & Brand Management (2017).
Why does "Sensory Brand Experiences Drive Brand Equity Through Emotional Engagement" matter for design?: Designers can create more impactful and memorable brand interactions by focusing on multi-sensory elements. Understanding how these experiences translate into emotional connections is crucial for building lasting brand loyalty and equity.
How can designers apply this research?: Designers should focus on creating holistic sensory experiences that evoke positive emotions, as this is a powerful pathway to building strong brand equity.
What were the main findings?: Sensory brand experience and consumer involvement directly influence cognitive, emotional, and behavioral consumer brand engagement.. Involvement, sensory brand experience, and consumer brand engagement collectively explain over 50% of the variance in brand equity.. Emotional engagement emerged as the most significant driver of overall consumer brand engagement.
What research method was used?: Quantitative research using structural equation modeling. with 1,390 participants.
How strong is the evidence?: Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2017 journal from Journal of Product & Brand Management.
What should I do differently in my next project?: When designing a product or brand, consider how each sensory aspect (sight, sound, touch, smell, taste) can be leveraged to create a cohesive and emotionally engaging experience for the user.
What are the limitations?: The study's framework may need to be tested in different cultural and product contexts. Longitudinal research could provide deeper insights into the evolving nature of these relationships.