The revolutionary power of sensory storytelling

Have you ever sniffed a billboard?
Cue an eye roll! 🙄
Imagine this – people walking around and sniffing blank yellow and red billboards.

Welcome to McDonald’s Netherlands’ latest marketing campaign. They’ve bottled the aroma of their famous French fries and it wafts from the billboards. This is based on research that smells trigger memories better than images.

Hat tip for clever marketing.

In an oversaturated visual world, it’s a brilliant move. It engages a new sense, creates buzz, and weaves a story without uttering a single word on those billboards. Not even a logo.

Adding sensory details – what your audience can see, hear, touch, smell, or taste—guarantees making any story sizzle.

In your stories, abandon bland, soulless words like “synergize” or “optimize.” Yes I demand it!
I’m talking about words that pop, like angry red face, a squeaky voice, or the sizzle of sausages.

When you use sensory words, you immerse your audience in your story. When you describe walking down a dark path, your audience can see this, as though they are there with you.

Sensory language paints a picture, teleporting your audience to that moment. They don’t just hear your story, they taste, smell, touch and see it. They live it.

Marketer and business writer Ann Handley says, ‘Words are evocative. They’re visceral. Words are power travelers who packed lots of emotion and baggage…’

When you dive into a sensory pool for your next story, you are not just storytelling. You are creating a shared immersive experience.

And who knew French fries could teach us so much about storytelling magic? 🍟✨