INTRODUCTION
Remember when you last went to the movie theater and in the interval they showed a video of a glass of coke being poured? And you could hear the fizz and the bubbles as it rises to the top, slowly and steadily? And then they show popcorn being popped on screen, each perfect kernel a lovely shade of perfect butter-yellow? If you’ve ever been tempted to leave your seat right then and go purchase those items because of that video, then clearly, ASMR marketing worked.
WHAT IS IT
ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. It is described as a feeling that starts from the scalp and moves down the spine. It includes a broad range of ‘triggers’ like the crackling of a fire, the rustling of pages of a notebook, the tapping of nails on a hard surface or even whispering.
It creates a sense of intimacy and personalization as if the advertiser is speaking directly in the ears of the viewer. ASMR marketing can help brands stand out in a crowded market and create a memorable experience for the audience.
Brands hope to take advantage of this feeling that consumers get, to make them really connect with the product. Basically, ASMR is connected to positive social bonding experiences. ASMR helps consumers to feel connected to the company, physically. They can ‘feel’ the brand and what it is offering, which is no easy feat, but if it is managed, the product will stand out from the crowd of other similar products.
There are more than 10 million ASMR videos on YouTube and marketers are really participating to get the best out of that. YouTube ASMR videos have a huge audience. ASMR allows the marketer to bring the sensory experience of the product to the consumer, using the little memorable things that would otherwise be unnoticed, like the way the product sounds or how it feels when it is touched. More often than not, brands use video marketing to explain their product’s USP but using ASMR is a gamechanger for a number of reasons. The customers get to have the experience before they even purchase the product.
EXAMPLE
Michelob was one of the first brands to capitalize on the opportunity of marketing their product through ASMR. It used an ad during the Superbowl, featuring actress Zoë Kravitz. Michelob used AMSR to highlight the small sights and sounds that are part of the beer-drinking experience to trigger our taste buds The ad begins with Kravitz whispering, ‘Let’s all experience something together’, and immediately, as the audience we are drawn towards her, wanting to be an active participant without questioning. She taps on the golden bottle of Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold and then looks directly into the camera. It is an experience we are sharing with her. She then makes a tiny rolling movement with the bottom of the bottle and holds onto our attention. This slow build up of sounds is broken when she pops the cap and we hear the bubbly beer.
Why did this ad work so well? Well, the audience was able to connect with the beer, while most beer companies target primarily a male audience, Michelob targeted everyone. They were able to evoke the refreshing feeling with the sounds of popping and whispering, intriguing the audience and giving them a thirst that only their product would satisfy.
In India, the most recent ad for TATA Coffee Grand Premium used ASMR marketing. It used enthralling sounds of coffee beans being plucked, dried roasted and then processed to perfection, delivering the perfect shaking sound of the coffee crystals.
Puneet Das, President – Packaged Beverages (India and South Asia), Tata Consumer Products said, “The differentiation of Tata Coffee Grand is the signature SHIK SHIK SHIK sound of the flavour locked decoction crystals. Hence, it was only natural to bring the brand story alive through sensorial stimulation which is unique to ASMR.”
Azazul Haque, Director, Media Monks said “The brief was to bring alive the product differentiation of flavour locked decoction crystals by creating an ASMR experience for the audience. We thought of telling the story of birth of Shik Shik Shik, the sound coffee crystals to convey the idea that every sip of Tata Coffee Grand Premium will make you feel you are experiencing the sounds in an estate where coffee is born.”
CONCLUSION
Why isn’t this considered a ridiculous trend? Well, as more and more people get attracted to it, marketers also get attracted to the endless opportunities this new way of marketing could provide. It doesn’t have as high a cost as hiring a celebrity endorser, or need some sort of virtual reality to make it seem interesting. It relies on the human’s basic senses and this is how they create a winning ad, specifically for the millennials and gen-z. It has become a new psychological way of thinking and feeling and for brands, of expressing.
Experience it yourself, would you rather read this article yourself or would you understand it better if I was whispering it aloud, explaining with hand gestures and tapping and movements that interact with your mind, in a way that doesn’t let it get distracted?
REFERENCES
