Touchpoints

I was recently asked by a co-worker how I define a 'touchpoint'. In pondering a bit more about this, I realized that in brand and marketing we often talk of touchpoints, but we might not get beyond the more common applications / definition. If we go a little deeper, touchpoints are actually often more holistic and sensory than at first blush.

Let's define a touchpoint from this perspective: A touchpoint is the moment upon which a sensory interaction results in an emotional / psychological one.

Here are a few examples of what I mean:

- When I come home to the smell of rice cooking in the rice cooker, I feel a sense of warmth and “home” as it triggers memories of growing up (an ingrained brain reaction savvy brands and marketers have leveraged for a long time, based on a fascinating discipline called olfactory science),

- When I see a cool ad on the side of a bus for a brand that I love and believe in, it reinforces my sense of identity,

- I don’t drink coffee, but each year around the holidays when I visit Starbucks I like to order their seasonal Caramel Apple Cider – esp. on a cold, dreary day where there’s a snappy chill in the air; the taste to me epitomizes this time of year,

- When I watch TV and hear the opening chords to one of my favorite TV shows, I feel elated and ready for a fun / good time,

Applied to brand and marketing, on projects we could put together a simple framework of key touchpoints that could encompass:

- Product-based / Physical experiences (ATM machine, riding a bike, driving a car)
- Social / Interpersonal experiences (internal employees, customer service, retail sales, etc.
- Interactive experiences (on Twitter / Facebook, smartphone)
- Traditional marketing experiences (TV, displays in Times Square, print collateral, direct response)
- A combination of these (experiential initiatives, interactive displays, iPad app, etc)

...and so on. We could then consider the kind of emotional reaction we want our audiences to have for each of these, which can help determine the best technique or strategy to leverage.

The touchpoints that are part of your brand and marketing strategy -- moments people interact with a brand from initial awareness to evangelism -- are all opportunities to engage with your audience in richer, more vivid ways.