The Haptic and Sensory Influence of Print

The Haptic and Sensory Influence of Print. Touch. Arousal. Sensation. All sound a wee bit salacious, but what they describe is anything but. As humans, we connect with our environment, we connect with other humans, and we crave the physical – as it stimulates receptors in our brains like a firestorm. We are simply wired to respond to touch.

The Sensory Marketing Laboratory at the University of Michigan concurs, “Neuroscience tells us that about half of the brain is devoted to processing sensory experiences. Touch, in particular, is an important part of the communication process with over 5 million sensory nerve receptors in your skin (aka the largest organ in your body.) Brands are now having multidimensional conversations, with products finding their own voices and consumers responding viscerally and subconsciously to them.” If you’ve ever bought an Apple product, you know what they’re talking about – that silky smooth, velvety feeling you get from the box primes the brain for surprise and delight, foreshadowing the excitement of what’s to come.

Canada Post has undertaken one of the largest studies of its kind in this realm with the help of Ipsos’ Neuro & Behavioral Science Center. Talking about the study with The Globe and Mail, Deepak Chopra, President & CEO of Canada Post said, “Physical fills a much-needed, and very human, sensory deficit in the virtual world, where we spend most of our time these days. While people love talking to Alexa (Amazon’s latest IoT home assistant) to order whatever they are running short on, they notice and retain a lot more of a paper promotional offer than they would from a purely digital message.”

And at St. Joseph we firmly believe in this science, as we have just acquired Bassett Direct, one of Canada’s most experienced providers of direct marketing services and variable printing. “Targeted, personalized direct marketing stands out as a powerful component in today’s marketing mix for brands to leave lasting, tactile reminders with their customers,” iterates John Gagliano, President of our Print Group.

So drink deeply from the cup of touch as Aristotle once postulated, “While man falls below other animal species in all the other senses, in touch, he excels other species in the exactness of discrimination. And that is why man is the most intelligent of all the animals.”

The Globe And Mail – Physical mail marketing still has plenty to offer advertisers

Deepak Chopra, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canada Post, talks about print, direct mail, and neuroscience.

Canada Post – ‘Connecting For Action’ – Whitepaper Download

A neuromarketing look at how direct mail works with digital advertising in integrated campaigns to optimize consumer attention, emotional engagement and brand recall.

9th Annual Canada Post Think INSIDE the Box Conference – Oct. 25th, 2016 at The Carlu

Michael Chase, CMO of St. Joseph, will be giving the closing keynote – showcasing and releasing our latest Print in a Digital World Trend Report. We have scoured the globe to bring you potent examples that will hopefully inspire you to mix, match and marry the worlds of print and digital to find your own marketing nirvana. Make sure to get your “physical” copy at the event.

Register for Think INSIDE the Box. TODAY!

Michael Chase, CMO
St. Joseph Communications

#MondayMashup >>> http://stjoseph.com/monday-morning-mashup-oct-17th/

Posted on October 17, 2016 in Marketing, Technology, Trends

Share the Story

About the Author

Michael Chase - a true hybrid – part strategist, part data monkey, part creative director, part global growth hacker (when you're doing bic pen tracheotomies you still have to think of EBITDA) and through and through an innovator.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published.

Back to Top