Seeing through touch: a conceptual framework of visual-tactile interplay
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-07-2017-1520 |
| Pages | 498-513 |
| Date | 20 August 2018 |
| Published date | 20 August 2018 |
| Author | Andreas Aldogan Eklund,Miralem Helmefalk |
| Subject Matter | Marketing,Product management,Brand management/equity |
Seeing through touch: a conceptual framework
of visual-tactile interplay
Andreas Aldogan Eklund and Miralem Helmefalk
Department of Marketing, Linnaeus University School of Business and Economics, Kalmar, Sweden
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework of visual-tactile interplay and consumer responses in
brand, product and servicescape contexts.
Design/methodology/approach –This paper performs a literature review of visual-tactile interplay by reviewing prior research in marketing and
psychology.
Findings –The review reveals that visual-tactile interplay provokes various consumer responses depending on whether bra nds, products or
servicescapes are used. The paper develops a comprehensive conceptual framework mapping out visual-tactile interplay and the relationship with
consumers’cognition, emotions and behaviors.
Research limitations/implications –A conceptual model was developed with a novel view on how visual and tactile cues can togeth er influence
consumer responses.
Practical implications –This paper shows how visual-tactile interplay is successful in brand, product and servicescape contexts and provides
practical insight for firms into how to provoke consumers’cognitive, emotional and behavioral responses.
Originality/value –This paper contributes to existing literature by developing a conceptual framework and model of visual-tactile interplay and
consumer responses by drawing on research in marketing and psychology.
Keywords Brands, Products, Servicescapes, Sensory cues, Sensory marketing, Multisensory interplay, Visual-tactile interplay
Paper type Literature review
1. Introduction
Marketing research has for a long time considered and used
various visual and tactile cues in different contexts (Littel
and Orth, 2013;Spence et al., 2004;Streicher and Estes,
2016),suchasmodifyinglight,hue,shape,temperatureor
texture of brands, products and servicescapes to influence
emotional and behavioral responses (Chebat and Morrin,
2007;Custers et al., 2010;Klatzky and Peck, 2012;
Reimann et al., 2010;Williams and Bargh, 2008). In the
marketing domain, these responses vary from enhanced
brand experience to faster reaction times (Klatzky et al.,
1993;Littel and Orth, 2013).
However, consumers undoubtedly perceive the world as
multisensory (Spence et al., 2014) and the interplay between
senses and cues has evidently shown to be more complex
and contextual than initially believed (Howes and Classen,
2013). Although the multisensory interplay between various
senses has been explored in different contexts (Elder et al.,
2010), the importance of visual-haptic interplay remains the
most personal and crucial for experiential based
consumption and marketing (Streicher and Estes, 2016).
Moreover, research shows that adding several senses into an
offering leads to more sensory information for perception
(Marks, 2014), evokes stronger experiences and better
evaluations, thus becoming of importance for managers to
consider the interplay of sensory cues in branding, product
design and design of servicescapes (Helmefalk and Hultén,
2017;Krishna, 2013;Spangenberg et al., 2006). Although
the senses have received significant interest in marketing,
research so far has mainly focused on product evaluation
and has overlooked brands and servicescapes. This is
surprising as sensory cues are modified in a servicescape to
assist consumers in understanding physical surroundings
(Bitner, 1992;Harris and Ezeh, 2008), which subsequently
influence consumers to interact with brands and products in
the given setting (Spence et al., 2014). These are highly
intertwined with spillover-effects, for instance, products can
be brands sold in a servicescape, which also can be a
branded store.
Regardless of the fact that research demonstrated the
impact of visual-t actile interplay on consumers, more is
required within the sco pe of marketing. Krishna (2013,
p. 164) agrees with this notion, “one of the main areas of
research is the interaction between the senses, where there are
unlimited opportunities for multisensory stimuli whose
effects are not yet known”. In regard to this, it is eq ually
important to know what has been conducted as well as what
needs to be conducte d. Visual-tactil e interplay is still
important to explo re within brands, pr oducts and
servicescape, whe re marketers still h ave great challeng es in
understanding how to construct sensory cues efficiently for
different target groups (Spence and Gall ace, 2011).
Although prior lit erature, most oft en in psychology
(Spence and Gallace, 2011), highlights evident effects of the
interplay between v isual and tactile c ues and illuminat es the
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
27/5 (2018) 498–513
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-07-2017-1520]
498
importance of the cross-modal interaction (Streicher and
Estes, 2016), research so far has been disjointed. It covers
many different aspects of consumer behavior in different
contexts. Therefo re, to understand an d synthesize how
visual-tactile i nterplay can be util ized in the contex t of
brands, products, and services, there still is a need for a
unified conceptual framework within the marketing domain
(Elder et al.,2010;Spence et al.,2014) . A conceptual mode l
would provide an understanding of how visual-tactile
interplay functions in marketing contexts.
To address these is sues, the literatu re review aims to
explore visual-t actile interplay i n marketing and psyc hology
in a brand, product and servicescape context. Moreover,
these are conceptualized into a proposed conceptual model,
which unifies literature and further advance research within
visual-tactile in terplay. In additi on, the review seeks t o
respond to the call f or further researc h, such as how brands
and products become experiential objects resulting in
stronger and more pe rsonal relations hips (Veloutsou and
Guzman, 2017).
The literature review contributes to the marketing research
with the notion of visual-tactile interplay and a conceptual
model showing how it influences consumers’cognition,
emotion and behavior in marketing contexts. In this context,
brands, products and servicescapes are examined to
understand how visual-tactile interplay influences consumer
responses. This is of importance as brands and products are
experiential objectsthat consumers perceive as fun and exciting
to touch and explore (Holbrook et al.,1984;Holbrook and
Hirschman, 1982). Furthermore, servicescapes cannot be
overlooked since brands and products are experienced within
the given setting (Kotler, 1973;Spence et al.,2014).
Accordingly, brands, products and servicescapes are all of
interest from a sensory marketingpoint of view as managers can
modify sensory cuesin these contexts to induce consumers with
cognitive, emotionaland behavioral responses.
The review is structured as follows: in Section 2, theoretical
underpinning provides a proposed theoretical framework of
which the literature is searched and reviewed.Subsequently, in
Section 3, a conceptual model is developed,and it is discussed
in Section 4. Finally,in Section 5 conclusions, implications and
an agenda for futureresearch are presented.
2. Theoretical underpinning
2.1 Sensory marketing as a framework
Over the past two decades, there has been a dramatic increase
of sensory and multisensory studies examined cognitive,
emotional and behavioral outcomes (Alpert and Alpert, 1989;
Donovan et al.,1994;Guéguen and Jacob, 2010;Holland et al.,
2005). Marketing research has for a long time implemented
and used sensory cues as independent cues exploring
psychological outcomes. These outcomes may subsequently
affect marketing contexts, such as brands, products and
servicescapes(Spence and Gallace, 2011).
Moreover, sensory marketing theories are eclectic, but
common grounds are highlighted in the review. Althoughthree
conceptual sensory marketing models have emerged (Hultén,
2011;Krishna, 2012;Spence et al., 2014), sensory cues is the
common denominator, which induces consumers with
cognitive, emotionaland behavioral outcomes in the context of
brands, products and servicescapes. This is portrayed and
illustrated as causalitybetween stimuli and response (Donovan
et al., 1994;Mehrabian and Russell, 1974), showing how
sensory cues, respectively or combined, affect consumers’
cognition, emotionand behavior. It has been studied numerous
of times within the marketing and psychology literature(Anon,
2015;Krishna, 2012)and is used as responses in the theoretical
framework of the review.
Moreover, in environmental psychology, Mehrabian and
Russel’s (1974) stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model
underpins many foundations in atmospherics and sensory
research (Baker et al., 1992;Chebat and Michon, 2003;
Donovan et al., 1994;Spangenberg et al.,2006;Vinitzky and
Mazursky, 2011). These have diverged into encompassing
marketing concepts and orientations in research in contexts
such as products, brands, and servicescapes (Plassmann et al.,
2008;Thomsonet al.,2010;Yoo et al., 1998).
Cue-congruency is described as the perceived fitbetween
cues, for instance, how a scent corresponds to music,
products, setting s or esthetics (Kri shna et al.,2010). In
multisensory marketing, cue-congruency is of utter
importance as it has an impact on consumer emotions and
cognitions (Helmefalk, 2016;Helmefalk and Hultén, 2017;
Spence et al., 2014). However, cue-congruency in marketing
literature has dispersed in different directions but concerns
with the fit and outcome. The use of congruency is found in
neurological stud ies (Stein et al., 2009), brands extension
discourse (Aaker and Keller, 1990;Nkwocha et al., 2005),
expectation models (Marks, 2014;Swan and Trawick, 1980;
Zeithaml et al., 1993) or se lf-image and produ ct congruency
(Hosany and Martin, 2012). Congruency is related to gestalt
theory and its components (Mattila and Wirtz, 2001), such as
the principle of simi larity, proximi ty and continuity, w here
congruent cues impact on cognitive processing and memory
retrieval (Deng et al., 2010;Peterson and Berryhill, 2013).
These components build up expectancies that complement
and simulate each oth er. In some occurren ces, this causes
perceptual illusions, where the mind fills out sensory voids
(Coren and Girgus, 1980).
In this review, we define cue congruency as coined in
Krishna et al. (2010, p. 410) “[...] to be the degree of fit among
characteristics of a stimulus”. However, congruency can be
perceived beyond physical attributes of sensory cues, such as
the matching of simple textures and taste (Piqueras-Fiszman
et al.,2012) or temperaturesand sounds (Velasco et al.,2013).
Sensory congruency can involve more complex and learned
matchings, such as the matching of scents and Christmas
music, which involves various associations and semantic
meanings (Spangenberg et al., 2005). The same rationale
controls congruency between visual and tactile cues and the
sensory organs receivingthese cues.
With respect to multisensory marketing, it is still in its
infancy, and measuring sensory cue(s) individually or
combined is complex in a servicescape (Helmefalk, 2016).
Although some argue for the holistic perspective in perceiving
sensory cues (Ballantine et al.,2010;Ballantine et al., 2015), it
is still possible to explore individual ones (Spangenberg et al.,
2005;Spangenberg et al., 2006). Moreover, as previously
mentioned, some cues have objective measures, such as
Conceptual framework
Andreas Aldogan Eklund and Miralem Helmefalk
Journal of Product & Brand Management
Volume 27 · Number 5 · 2018 · 498–513
499
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