High-Tempo and Stinky: High Arousal Sound-Odor Congruence Affects Product Memory

Abstract

The tendency to match different sensory modalities together can be beneficial for marketing. Here we assessed the effect of sound-odor congruence on people's attitude and memory for products of a familiar and unfamiliar brand. Participants smelled high- and low-arousal odors and then saw an advertisement for a product of a familiar or unfamiliar brand, paired with a high- or low-arousal jingle. Participants' attitude towards the advertisement, the advertised product, and the product's brand was measured, as well as memory for the product. In general, no sound-odor congruence effect was found on attitude, irrespective of brand familiarity. However, congruence was found to affect recognition: when a high-arousal odor and a high-arousal sound were combined, participants recognized products faster than in the other conditions. In addition, familiar brands were recognized faster than unfamiliar brands, but only when sound or odor arousal was high. This study provides insight into the possible applications of sound-odor congruence for marketing by demonstrating its potential to influence product memory.