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ADD TO THE ATMOSPHERE
We tend to think that a great atmosphere is down to a mixture of indefinable things that just magically fit together to create a fortunate situation. It’s the people, the lighting, the music ... but you can’t make it happen. The scientists would argue otherwise.
The idea Professor Charles Spence is a neursoscientist who runs the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University’s Department of Experimental Psychology. His work explores the way our senses react with each other to influence the way we think, and shows that we are influenced in different ways from the rational ones we’re aware of. For example, he has shown that if underarm deodorant external packaging is rough, we think that the deodorant itself feels uncomfortable. If the same deodorant has smooth packaging, we believe it feels fine. We think we prefer one crisp to another because of the taste, but the most important element turns out to be the crunch it makes as we bite it. We’ve all heard about the theory about how brewing coffee when potential buyers come round can make it easier to sell your house, and how supermarkets use the synthetic fragrance of freshly baked bread to attract people into their shops. Professor Spence’s work also includes the effect of adding
130 • 100 GREAT BRANDING IDEAS
100 Great Branding Ideas 14dec.indd 130
12/14/11 11:14 AM
