Mar 4 2013: Good point. Going back to the example of supermarkets, I think a lot is aimed at children (candy at children's eye level, receiving toys at the check-out, etc.) but I guess the parents are the ones with the decision making power, and if they are aware and disciplined it's not taking it too far.
Mar 4 2013: I agree with you, there will always be some sort of manipulation and that's fine. But it's worth trying to view the issue from other angles, i.e. philosophical. Marketing and philosophy are not mutually exclusive ;)
Mar 3 2013: @Mathew & Martha: I think people today are much more aware of marketing ploys than 10 years ago, which, from a consumer perspective, I think is healthy and a step towards thinking for ourselves again. This, and the overkill of advertisments, is exactly why sensory marketing is becoming more important; people don't realise that marketing reaches out to more subtle ways to 'pull' the consumers, as opposed to the noisy 'push' marketing which is not very hard to miss. You could say that the noisy 'push' marketing is a more open in ways of manipulating consumers (because, as we established, marketing is manipulative. Period.) because it is more tangible. Smell, sound, and taste are way more intangible, and therefore manipulative on a much deeper level.
I think this is not per definition wrong, e.g. we go to an espresso bar not only for the coffee, but also for the experience, and the smell of roasted coffee beans is a part of that. But it is our choice to go to that espresso bar, and thus be confronted with this bit of sensory marketing. There are many situation in which consumers don't control when they are hit by sensory marketing, and this is where I think it becomes a more ethical issue.
Feb 28 2013: If you look at the trend of companies being transparent and honest in their communications, and consumers expecting this from companies, leading consumers by sensory stimulation to appeal to their subconscious contradicts the transparency doesn't it? How can consumers then 'protect' themselves from these methods of persuasion?
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A reply on Conversation: Is sensory marketing considered manipulative by appealing to subconscious senses?
A reply on Conversation: Is sensory marketing considered manipulative by appealing to subconscious senses?
A comment on Conversation: Is sensory marketing considered manipulative by appealing to subconscious senses?
I think this is not per definition wrong, e.g. we go to an espresso bar not only for the coffee, but also for the experience, and the smell of roasted coffee beans is a part of that. But it is our choice to go to that espresso bar, and thus be confronted with this bit of sensory marketing. There are many situation in which consumers don't control when they are hit by sensory marketing, and this is where I think it becomes a more ethical issue.
A reply on Conversation: Is sensory marketing considered manipulative by appealing to subconscious senses?
A reply on Conversation: Is sensory marketing considered manipulative by appealing to subconscious senses?