Impact of Sensory Branding on Brand Personality: with Special Reference to Carbonated Soft Drink Brands in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Most world-leading brands use sensory stimulation to induce desired behaviors among their customers because the five sensors play an important role in brand consumption. Although its effectiveness is recognized in a business context, empirical gaps have remained within different market contexts. This study focused on examining the impact of sensory branding on brand personality, referring to carbonated soft drink brands in Sri Lanka. This study used a quantitative research design with a deductive research approach. Online survey questionnaires were used to collect the primary data, and the sample was limited Western province of Sri Lanka. The sample was limited 200 respondents and selected by using the convenience sampling method. Both inferential and descriptive statistical tools were used to analyze the data, followed by normality assumptions. Results revealed that four dimensions, namely auditory, gustative, atmospheric & tactile factors impact brand personality whilst visual factors were not proven significant. As this study is limited to the carbonated soft drink industry, it finds limitations for generalization to other contexts. This study's findings contribute to marketing managerial aspects to create the brand personality through sensory branding applications. It proposes to extend the future studies for different product contexts and addressing to the prevailing practice gaps.