Fact # 1:

Bulk of all communication today--83%--appeals to sight, leaving a paltry 17% to the other senses. Surprisingly, smell is the second most important sense after sight, and not sound. In fact, 75% of all our emotional connections are based on smell and yet, less than 2% of today's communication takes scent into account.

In a test conducted by Dr. Alan Hirsch, two identical pairs of Nike running shoes were placed in separate, but identical, rooms. One room was infused with a mixed floral scent. The other wasn't. By an overwhelming margin of 84%, test subjects preferred the shoes displayed in the fragrant room. Additionally, they estimated the value of the "scented" shoes was, on average, $10.33 higher than the second pair. Similar tests using belts showed an even higher preference of 91% for the ones in the scented environment.

All our sensory touch points are essential to building the brands of tomorrow. We cannot afford to overlook any of them. It could be this very reason why the most iconic of brands, Coca-Cola, is suffering. For whatever good reason the soda giant has ignored the fact that the majority of consumers believe that Coke tastes better when drunk from a glass bottle. Better than if drunk from plastic or a can.

Just as Coke has moved away from using glass bottles, so has the brand been losing ownership of the tactile soft-drink experience. According to our study, Pepsi-Cola now has the tactile lead with 55% of consumers claiming a stronger tactile relationship with Pepsi, versus Coke's 50%.

Sensory touch points also extend to color, and here again Coca-Cola has failed to maintain its leadership position. Well known for introducing Santa's signature Coke-red suit in the 1950s, the color red has been associated with the brand for decades. But beyond its stalwart U.S. market, Coke's "ownership" of red has slipped. Today, the British telco Vodafone is more closely associated with the color. In another color irony, IBM, once known as Big Blue, has lost the ownership of the color blue to Pepsi.

The lessons here are simple:

a) We are all created with five senses.

b) The loss of even one of them creates suffering.

c) They are essential to our lives, and as such they should be essential to building our brands.

Moral of the story: Before you neglect the sensory assets of your product, reconsider the importance of each touch point. You could find the very differentiation you've been looking for.

Then you protect it, before your competitor realizes your super sensory secret.