MSc Marketing Dissertation

Why is premium ice cream typically sold in round containers?
Why do foods that position themselves as 'natural' have packaging that feels rough?
Why is my chip/crisp packet so darn hard to open?!
I answer these questions and more in my MSc Marketing dissertation (thesis) on tactile marketing, in which I critically analyse the existing academic literature on sensory and tactile marketing, and conduct my own primary research on the effects of embossment.
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If you would like to read the dissertation, please contact me, and I will be happy to email you a copy.

In the mean time, feel free to watch my entry in the 3 minute science communication competition FameLab (right) where I discuss other aspects of packaging that are covered in my research.

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Title

Abstract

Raised Expectations: ​The Effects of Embossed Packaging on Consumer Perception

Sensory marketing has been a subject of much study and an increasingly important element of packaging design for many years. Companies have expanded tactics to include using shape, colour, sound, and touch cues, among other things, to communicate aspects of their product or brand. They achieve this through association and perceptual transference where perception of the product, e.g. taste, is affected. This study looks at embossment, a tactile cue which is widely implemented but has not been studied.

This study used a qualitative approach in the form of focus group interviews to gather in-depth information about the experiential and emotional benefits of embossment, how aware consumers are of it, and find out the motivation for buying products with embossed packaging or labels. 
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The findings derived concluded that consumers overwhelmingly associate embossment with positive product attributes, and that it helps products stand out on the shelf before consumers even touch them, increasing likelihood of product touch and purchase. Negative effects of embossment were noted when embossment was used incongruently with other cues, which roused conscious awareness of embossment, and ultimately rejection of the product. 

Tags

​sensory, marketing, touch, feel, tactile, haptic, packaging, cues, category cue, perception, perceptual transference, emboss, embossed, embossment, embossing

Download

​The file will be accessible from Edinburgh Napier University Open Access Research Repository at a future date. Until then, feel free to directly ask me for a copy which I am happy to email you.