11: Branding the Taste Buds
View the warning on the contents page regarding "facts" presented by this author.
Taste and scent are closely combined in a physiological sense: there is evidence that the taste buds sense only basic flavors (sweet, sour, bitter, and salty) and the majority is perceived through smell. But for the present chapter, taste will be considered as being perceived through the mouth rather than through the nose.
Taste is considered the most difficult for any firm, aside of those whose product is food, to incorporate into its brand. For those businesses, taste is critical to the success of their business.
The author provides some odd examples that have nothing to do with taste: doing a television or radio spot describing food and drink, printing recipes in local papers and magazines. (EN: neither of which has to do with communicating taste - this is audio and visual data that leaves the user to imagine, rather than experience, taste.) Suggesting opportunities to provide samples of your product is also mentioned, and directly relevant, but painfully self-evident.
A tasty non-food business
The author acknowledges that non-food businesses may not see the potential for making taste a part of their brand, and may not recognize opportunities to communicate this sense to clients and potential customers.
The author goes into a number of disjointed examples of instances in which it is common for businesses to offer food or drink to their clients and prospects: refreshments served at a meeting, a cup of coffee offered to a customer who will be in a waiting area, the food served on trains and airplanes, snacks offered at presentations and conventions.
In each of these instances, food and drink is a thoughtful gesture, but there is evidently little thought put into it beyond the mere offering: airline food is so hideous it's a hackneyed subject of stand-up comics, the snacks given away at conventions are often very cheap, and the coffee offered to guests in a waiting area is leftovers from a break-room coffeepot.
(EN: The break-room coffeepot calls to mind that food in cafeterias and break-rooms is also quite hideous in many workplaces. Aside of a few that offer gourmet selections as an employee perk, which others scoff at as being ridiculous, most companies offer very poor quality to their "valued" employees ... and do little better for their "valued" customers.)
The lack of attention given to taste provides an excellent opportunity for a firm to distinguish itself in a positive way from its competitors and create a lasting positive impression.
(EN: This calls to mind personal experience at several industry conferences where vendors held after-hours events in hospitality suites. Word got around about what firms were offering in the way of food and drink. Very small firms attracted a lot of potential clients to their events by offering upscale fare, and very large ones were the butt of derisive humor for offering vending-machine fare.)
Another random thought is making sure that there is a dish of mints in your reception area or showroom booth. Having them made with custom packaging helps better associate them to your brand.
When gifts of food are given to customers and clients, this is also an opportunity to make a good or bad impression, as the quality of the food speaks to the quality of your business. If you use a branded product, you are borrowing on the quality of the brand (for better or worse) - so it's again important to avoid being cheap. And again, working with a supplier to use custom packaging that communicates your brand rather than the manufacturer makes the association f taste to brand stronger.
Sweet ways to brand your business
While "quality" has been stressed thus far in the sense of upscale food and drink, it's important to consider the qualities of the food item itself and ensure they are in line with your brand: a "thank you" gift of beef jerky would be perfectly appropriate for a dealership that sells pickup trucks, but it would be entirely inappropriate to a dealership that sells luxury sedans.
(EN: The author turns again to product packaging, ideas such as using the company name and logo on custom-labeled bottles of wine, cocktail napkins, and the like ... but this again is departing from the realm of taste and appealing to the visual sense. Good idea, but nothing to do with taste itself.)
The author provides a laundry-list of possible food items (fruit baskets, mints, chewing gum, nits, chocolate, jelly beans, lollipops, and so on) but leaves it to the reader to imagine what emotions and psychological connections each food entails and what kinds of business might be connected to it.
Images of food items are often incorporated into advertisements for non-food products to make an emotional association. (EN: Again, this is more to do with cognition than sensation - a picture of an apple suggests the taste or scent of an apple, but does not actually impact these senses.) A few examples are given of firms that have done so in print and television channels.
(EN: The author does say a single word about consistency of taste experience - though it stands to reason that if consistency is important for every other aspect of branding, it's likewise important to taste. Using a different taste every time is like using a different logo, jingle, or scent every time. On the other hand, there's some argument that "same" becomes bland, and that a company that gives the exact same food item as a gift every holiday season provides the impression it didn't put much thought into the gift - but on the other hand, if the item is good, customers actually look forward to getting the same gift each year. Much to consider, and little help from this particular author.)