A few months back I blogged about how the science of the brain is being used more and more by marketers.  I wrote:

"...analyzes why we buy what we buy by using medical MRI machines to monitor consumers brains to measure their subconscious reactions to brands and products.  Time after time, the subconscious thoughts deep within the gray matter overruled the more logic-driven conscious.  Decades of traditional marketing research, including focus groups, have been predicated on the conscious being the "right" answer.   Group think, and other issues,  influence answers in so many ways that traditional research methods may no longer be the best tools to gain true insight."
                   
As we move toward using science to help us sell stuff to the masses, it occurs to me that basic sensory targeting seems to be missing.  It is widely known that targeting our five senses is the most effective way to convey emotion, feeling, thoughts, etc.  It is why certain music takes us back to specific places and times and why the smell of cut grass takes us back to our childhood.  The way a product feels in our hands can be just as important as how it looks; heavier objects often convey better quality.  Yet most retail packaging is designed almost entirely around just one sense, our ability to see. 

Go to the local grocery store and check out the cereal isle.  There are rows and rows of colorful boxes stacked in neat rows all vying for our visual attention.  Some may use text more while others prefer pictures, but they all are focused on what we the consumer are seeing.  The same can be said for chips, soft drinks, coffee, you name it.  From a touch perspective they are all mostly slick cardboard which convey nothing other cheap packaging.  The best tasting cereal is in the same box as the worst tasting cereal.  Our sense of smell is exposed to only the faint aroma of the ink that used to print the box.  Our sense of hearing is completely left out unless you shake the item and then they all sound alike anyway.

The only items that do engage the senses are those that aren't packaged.  How many of us will squeeze and smell fresh produce before we buy it?  I would say most all of us.  We do this because we have ready access to the actual product and more importantly, our eyes don't have the pretty packaging to rely on.  We intuitively trust our other senses to allow us to pick the best banana, cantaloupe, etc.  We can do this with our eyes shut.  Ever tried to but cereal or brownie mix with your eyes closed?  You can't do it, at least not based on what the item would taste like.  Why not make the box of brownies actually smell like fresh baked brownies?