Do you remember the last time you fell in love with a brand? Was it the warmth of a hand-brewed coffee, the comfort of walking into a softly lit bookstore, or the moment you saw a brand’s social media post that perfectly matched your mood?
As the consumer landscape evolves, competition between brands is no longer just about products or pricing. It is about who can deliver the better feeling. In fact, as early as 2014, research from Statista showed that 71% of consumers prefer to build long-term relationships with brands that provide deep emotional experiences. Today, this idea of caring for consumers’ emotions has become a key element in brand marketing strategies.
So how can brands create experiences that make consumers feel good? Let’s explore what “The New Five Senses of Marketing” means.
What Is the “New Five Senses”?
The term “New Five Senses” was first introduced in a 2023 post by the Xiaohongshu account HOOKOO 物空青年 titled “To Build a Brand, You Must Understand the New Five Senses.” The concept focuses on building emotional connections between brands and consumers through five dimensions of “feeling,” helping brands resonate more deeply with modern audiences.
The Rise of the Feeling Economy and Building Long-Term Brand Relationships
Traditional marketing emphasized product features and functions. But in the digital era, consumers care more about how brands connect with them emotionally. Through emotional resonance, brands can become more than product providers — they can become part of consumers’ lives, influencing both choices and loyalty.
According to Ipsos research, when a brand’s promise matches what consumers actually experience, the emotional distance between them narrows, increasing purchase intent. Studies on brand intimacy also show that building deeper emotional connections enhances loyalty and makes the brand an integral part of everyday life.
The Five Dimensions of Feeling
1. Relaxation: Creating Comfort and Ease
In today’s fast-paced world, Gen Z values small joys and moments of calm. Brands that let go of rigidity and cultivate a relaxed atmosphere can connect more naturally with their audience.
How to build a sense of relaxation:
- Social presence: Use friendly and humorous tones when interacting with followers to make the brand feel approachable.
- Store experience: Offer stress-free shopping spaces with simple design and thoughtful service so customers can explore comfortably.
2. Exquisite: Showing Distinctive Brand Style
A brand’s aesthetics and personality determine its recognizability. Today, “sophistication” is evolving toward “authenticity,” meaning brands express uniqueness through genuine and culturally rooted storytelling.
How to build sophistication:
- Communicate brand values: Highlight transparency, sustainability, and community care.
- Local storytelling: Use cultural elements and narratives that reflect local identity to create stronger differentiation.
3. Daily: Becoming Part of Daily Life
In an age of information overload, brands must continuously refresh their products and content to stay relevant and become part of consumers’ daily routines.
How to build everyday relevance:
- Product updates and collaborations: Continuously improve products and partner with other brands to stay visible.
- Social media marketing: Post consistently, interact with followers, and establish a recognizable voice that consumers encounter frequently.
4. Atmosphere: Designing Immersive Brand Experiences
Atmosphere represents a brand’s overall vibe. By creating immersive environments, brands can draw consumers into an emotional space that feels distinctively theirs.
How to build atmosphere:
- Online experience: Use beautiful web design, cohesive color schemes, and subtle motion to create visual harmony.
- Physical space: Design lighting and layout that encourage comfort and social sharing, turning spaces into memorable experiences.
5. Social: Building a Sense of Belonging
When consumers buy a brand’s products or services, a relationship begins. To deepen that bond and inspire sharing, brands need to spark conversations and topics. This not only strengthens belonging but also expands community recognition.
How to build social connection:
- Create online and offline communities: Develop LINE or Facebook groups, Instagram spaces, or organize VIP gatherings to foster close engagement.
- Collaborate with key opinion leaders: Partner with influencers to inspire organic sharing and enhance brand impact.
The New Five Senses: The Core of Future Branding
The New Five Senses emphasizes how brands use emotional experiences to strengthen relationships with consumers. In today’s experience-driven world, great products are not enough. Brands must also understand consumers’ emotional needs and create meaningful experiences through relaxation, sophistication, everyday relevance, atmosphere, and social connection.
After reading this, I would even call them the “Five Senses of the Heart”, because each begins with emotion. That is the key difference between the new and traditional five senses — it goes beyond sight and sound to reach emotional resonance, creating a lasting sense of belonging between people and brands.
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Sources
「新五感」行銷你聽過嗎？學會能激起Z世代情緒價值的「心」策略！, Kevin’s Life, 2024
有效連接品牌承諾與顧客體驗, IPSOS, 2022
品牌親密度：6大原型×3大階段×3大層級，增強品牌與消費者互動與共鳴，圈粉又圈錢, 馬里奧．納塔雷利、蕾娜．普拉派爾, 2019
