A Study on the Effectiveness of Sensory Branding in Cafe Coffee Day A Study on the Effectiveness of Sensory Branding in Cafe Coffee Day Outlets in Coimbatore Outlets in Coimbatore

The purpose of the study were: (1) to develop a reliable and valid scale and model for sensory experience, (2) to empirically test the model using Roberts’ (2004) lovemarks theory by examining the effect of the two brand image dimensions on the lovemark experience (brand love and brand respect) and, (3) to examine the relationship among brand loyalty, brand trust and overall brand equity. The empirical results show that the model is found to be fit and the hypotheses are significant and the variables have a strong correlation with one another.

to create brand loyalty and thereby boost sales and revenues of the company.A strong brand is one that can benefit from the human senses that can enhance, affirm and create trust with the customers.It is evident from studies that customers make buying decisions based on the perception of the brand and that the perception is formed a collection of stimulations that come from the sensory receptors.Senses are strongly linked to our memories and emotions.Five sensorial strategies are suggested that highlight the human senses as the centre of the company's sensory marketing.Sensory marketing is a technique that aims to seduce the consumer by using his/her senses to influence feelings and behaviour.The important factor in sensory marketing is to activate the largest number of receptors by using incentives to develop a positive association and reaction which plays a major role in purchase decisions.A picture of chocolate chip cookie helps consumers identify and recall memories of eating the cookie, creating a mental image of a pleasurable experience thus creating a positive response.Aradha Krishna suggests that even a simple change in the visuals can increase customers, eating enjoyment and come back for more.According to Rieunier (2002), the sensory marketing technique tries to fill in the deficiencies of the "traditional marketing" which is too rational.Classic marketing is based on the idea that the customer is rational.Sensory marketing puts the understanding lived by the consumers and his/her feelings in the process.These experiences have sensorial, emotional, behavioural, cognitive, and relational dimensions.Sensory marketing aims to create the adequacy of the products with their packaging and design, and then to valorize (maintaining the value or price of a product) them in a commercial environment to make them eye-catching.There, the consumer is behaving according to his/her emotions and impulsions.The fortune 500 companies have understood that the five senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, sound) play an important role in branding and establishing a marketing strategy that appeals to multiple senses which is necessary for future brand building and revenue generation in the past eight years.A multi-sensory brand experience generates certain beliefs, feelings, thoughts and opinions to build a brand image in the consumer's mind.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE Sensuality :
The sensory aspect of a brand image refers to brand experiences, shaped through a consumer's physical senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch).The marketplace of today has undergone a noteworthy change, where we have gone from selling and promoting products and services to enticing customers and selling through experiences (Joy and Sherry, 2003).Companies should appeal towards customers' feelings, facilitating faster responses (Pham et al, 2001).The human senses have been recognized as important factors in consumer behaviour, where they have been acknowledged as powerful cues influencing our perception, emotions, and behaviour (Peck and Childers, 2008).Providing sensory experience is very important for generating positive perceptions of a brand (Gobe, 2001;Schmitt & Simonson, 1997).Businesses like restaurant, hotel and departmental store do use marketing activities through sense of the customer for example, scent of bakery, feel of the fabric, the colour of the sign, the song played in the store, sampling of the snack, packing and representation.In service industry, if the service can use scents that can activate memories of pleasant emotions, it could be the great tool in order to create loyalty to a brand or service (David et al., 2003).Brenda Soars (2009) explained that sensory stimuli could persuade environments, improve the shopper experience and alter the nature of behaviour in ways beyond our consciousness and she also mentioned that if the sensory tool is utilized appropriately, it can persuade the decisionmaking and also have positive attitude and approach from customers.Music lovers are aware that sound can be extremely powerful in creating emotional connections and triggering memories.The growl of Harley Davidson engine, tune of Britannia, the ping of Intel, jingle of Blackberry (we are blackberry boys), etc.Additional studies approve a direct link between the type of music played and the overall satisfaction (Morrison, Gan, Dubelaar, & Oppewal, 2011).E.g.Sunburn concerts, Tomorrowland concerts and various other concerts happening all around the world.The first and foremost sense is sight when it comes to identifying a brand or a logo so, it dominates over the other four senses and it is the most seductive sense of all.A recent Turkish analysis found 84.7 % of consumers say colour is the primary reason they buy a product.According to a consumer touch is an important factor in determining the products and their quality.Research suggests that olfactory incentives reach the brain much faster than any other senses and also has an evocative power of memories.Sight sense increases the brand awareness and image by means of visualizations.A survey articulates that the purchasing decision is made within 90 seconds of seeing a product and that 62 to 90 % of the judgment made is influenced by colour alone rather than other variables such as price, quality and texture.Colours can affect the spending habits.Research on olfactory shows that odor can be used as an asset to change consumers' mood, by making them feel more comfortable and relaxed (Solomon, 2009, p. 9-11).It's believed that scent could bring a powerful force on consumers' behaviour.It can contribute a favorable perception of the services (Chebat & Michon, 2003).On an average a human being can remember more than 10,000 scents and the sensitivity of a scent familiarity in the past is enough to associate with earlier memories.Scents can add to sensory experiences that create long lasting memory pictures in the customers' intellect and build awareness and craft an image of a brand both long term and short term.The $35 billion fragrance market is growing fastest in the BRICs.The five primary taste sensations are salty, sour, bitter, sweet, and umami (savoury flavour-found in mushrooms, soya sauce, sea foods, etc.).The food industry is highly mastered and makes the most of to become accustomed to regional preferences.Studies show that there is a direct association between perceived food quality and consumers intentions on becoming regulars.It is important that restaurants make it very clear as to what consumers can expect.Because if consumers have dissimilar dining motivations, it is most likely that they assess the experience differently, this finally might lead to dissatisfaction (Jin, Lee, & Huffman, 2012, p. 545).Psychology research has shown that after consumers have felt a product, they experience a small sense of ownership, making them more likely to buy it (Brick &Mortar, 2007).The feeling of the smooth, silky surface of an ad in a magazine, no doubt, generates an emotional bond with the advertised brand.Transmission of information from the receptors passes via sensory nerves through tracts in the spinal cord and in to the brain (Baars & Gage, 2010).Brand Love: Researchers and research studies have proved that only satisfaction isn't enough to keep the customers loyal (Jones & Sasser, 1995).Many satisfied customers toggle to competitor's brand after some time (Reichheld, 1996).Therefore, satisfaction results in loyalty when the satisfaction is sustained for an extended period of time and gets deeper.A fraction of the satisfied customers tend to love a brand (Carroll & Ahuvia, 2006).They found that satisfaction is an antecedent of brand love and brand love is an antecedent of brand loyalty.Carroll & Ahuvia (2006) 2004) stated that the term brand respect is a combination of the three elements of performance, trust and reputation.Literature from academic and industry describe the importance of sensory experience.A brand creates respect through good performance, which creates a sense of trust and builds a positive reputation (Roberts, 2004).Roberts (2004) has highlighted the importance of brand respect by building a strong relationship between the consumer and brand.Psychology and sociology researchers have that respect is an important factor in fabricating a close interpersonal relationship (Frei & Shaver, 2002;Gottman, 1994Gottman, , 1996 2001) have defined respect an attitude which is shaped by feelings and thoughts of quality of a person.When brand communications generate unforgettable optimistic experiences with a brand or personally relevant messages may lead to brand respect.These messages are delivered through the use of myths or iconic characters may build respect for a brand by emphasizing on the brand's performance, reputation and trust.Excellent design is seen as an innovation and sign of quality which might increase the brand respect.Brand Loyalty: Brand loyalty has played an innermost role both in brand literature and customer loyalty literature (Jacoby and Chestnut, 1978).Aaker (1991, p. 39) defines loyalty as "the attachment that a customer has to a brand", and consider it to be a primary dimension of the brand equity.In contrast, Keller (1993) views loyalty as a consequence of brand equity because when favourable attitudes results in repeated purchase of the product.Customer loyalty offers several benefits to the brands they like or love: it creates entry barriers for the competing brands and it makes it possible to charge higher prices.Therefore, gives the company time to react on competitors innovations and also function as a buffer in times of intensive price-competition (Aaker, 1996).Brand loyalty is broadly divided in to two spectrums: behavioral loyalty and attitudinal loyalty.Based on the above model identified the study aims at testing the following hypothesis: H1. Sensuality has significant influence over brand love.H2.Sensuality has significant influence over brand respect.H3.Sensuality has significant influence over brand trust.H4. Brand love significant impact on brand loyalty.H5. Brand respect has significant influence over brand loyalty.H6. Brand trust has significant influence over brand loyalty.H7. Brand loyalty has significant influence over overall brand equity.

ENTRY AND GROWTH OF CAFE RETAIL OUTLETS IN INDIA
The café market in India started growing in the 1990s.However, major expansion in the coffee shops and café market in India was observed during past 5-6 years.The industry has grown well since 2005.India is the sixth largest producer of coffee and with the increasing developments in the café market, the consumption of coffee is also rising.India has pre-dominantly been a tea consuming country and coffee has been a luxury drink.However, the notion is changing with the shifting lifestyles, along with progressing disposable incomes, increased influence of western countries, easy accessibility to internet and other media.Coffee has turned out to be a trendy beverage for the young population of the country and with the high ratio of young population in India; the entire coffee market has been benefited.The coffee shops and café's turn out to be the best locations to hangout for youngsters and are thus, preferred over other venues.The coffee shops and café market in India is expected to witness phenomenal growth in the next five years.A large number of coffee shops in India are being expanded, with the proposition of food & beverages.The average bill amount at a coffee shop in India was around INR 135-150 in 2010 and is expected to increase to INR 230-255 by 2017.Also, Mumbai turns out to be the most high-priced city for average bill amount and Kolkata remains to be the least expensive.It is anticipated that the coffee shops/café's market in India will cross INR 5600 Crore by 2017.Café Coffee Day is the biggest player in the coffee shops and café market in India, followed by Barista Lavazza and Costa Coffee.There are a few other players/brands in the market, which include The Chocolate Room, Javagreen, Coffee N U, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and Gloria Jeans etc.The global coffee giants Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts opened their stores in India in the end of 2012.
Coffee Consumption: Coffee is the beverage of choice in many south Indian states and these states consume the bulk of the coffee in India.While this southern market consumes most of the coffee as filter coffee (usually with Chikori added), rest of the India is mainly an instant coffee market.Volume-wise south India consumes ~75% of the total coffee that is consumed in India.(Well, the same was >90% just a decade back).The Value-wise break-up is a less skewed, given that most of the consumption in the rest of the India is out of home (restaurants, cafes etc & hence of high value).Coffee consumption (volume) in India is growing at a CAGR of ~6% per year during the last decade, which clearly indicates at a strong trend of newer people & regions being exposed to coffee.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Data collection was done with the help of a structured questionnaire which was given to respondents.The questionnaire was framed with the help of previous study and not validated since the model is new and validation of questions for the proposed model was done with the data collected.

Population & Sampling Design
The study has considered coffee consumers of CCD of age group from 20-35 in Coimbatore city since most of the consumer in this age group will be the target audience for CCD because the brand and economic influence and spending capacity for these age group will be high.
Research being exploratory in nature and due to time constraint convenient sampling was taken into consideration.Sample size of 100 was taken for the study.The sampling procedures denotes the basis on which the respondent were selected.The idea behind considering consumer between 20 and 35 is the brand and economic influence over their purchase of products.

Sampling Frame
Sampling frame for this research was chosen based on the demographic details including age and frequency of their visit to CCD outlets and how much money and time they spend in the outlet.Consumer who visit frequently or occasionally are considered for the study.

Sampling Method
Sampling is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a statistical population to estimate characteristics of the whole population.For this study, Convenience sampling, a type of non-probability sampling that involves the sample being drawn from that part of the population that is close to hand, has been used.That is, a sample population is selected because it is readily available and convenient, as researchers are drawing on relationships or networks to which they have easy access.

Sample size
Since the research being conducted is an empirical study, where the theory needs to be proved beyond sampling frame, it is necessary to check whether the sample size of 200 is adequate for conducting the research and arriving at a proper conclusion.Sample size calculation makes use of many thumb rules.However the most prudent way to determine a sample size will be to make use of power analysis.For this purpose G power 3 software was used.Effect size is a measure of the strength of the effects being studied in the research.According to Cohen (1978) the value of effect size is 0.02 for small effects, 0.15 for medium effects and 0.35 for large effects.Most researches usually study the largest relationships between constructs.Tools for analysis 1. Construct reliability analysis was done using Cronbach's alpha measure with SPSS software to determine the reliability of the various dimensions being studied.2. Correlation analysis between construct scores was conducted to test the significance of correlation between related constructs.

PLS Path Modelling structural equation technique
was conducted on the model proposed to ascertain the validity of the constructs proposed and the paths postulated in the model.In general it is assumed that if the t-statistic is more than 2, the path is significant.

H1. Sensuality has significant influence over brand love
The relation was found to be highly significant (t=15.759).R square value is also high (0.464).The path coefficient or the beta value also suggests that the sensuality have strong effects on Brand love (0.681).Path coefficients explain how strong the effect of one variable is on the other.The weight of different path coefficients enables us to rank their relative statistical importance.Thus hypothesized path between sensuality and brand love is statistically significant.

H2. Sensuality has significant influence over brand respect
The relation was found to be highly significant (t=22.671).R square value is also high (0.564).The path coefficient or the beta value also suggests that the sensuality have strong effects on Brand respect (0.751).
Path coefficients explain how strong the effect of one variable is on the other.The weight of different path coefficients enables us to rank their relative statistical importance.Thus hypothesized path between sensuality and brand respect is statistically significant.

H3. Sensuality has significant influence over brand trust
The relation was found to be highly significant (t=22.089).R square value is also high (0.529).The path coefficient or the beta value also suggests that the sensuality have strong effects on Brand trust (0.728).Path coefficients explain how strong the effect of one variable is on the other.The weight of different path coefficients enables us to rank their relative statistical importance.Thus hypothesized path between sensuality and brand trust is statistically significant.

H4. Brand love significant impact on brand loyalty
The relation was found to be highly significant (t=4.567).R square value is also high (0.574).The path coefficient or the beta value also suggests that the brand love have strong effects on brand loyalty (0.681).Path coefficients explain how strong the effect of one variable is on the other.The weight of different path coefficients enables us to rank their relative statistical importance.Thus hypothesized path between brand love and brand loyalty is statistically significant.Path coefficient values for all the assigned paths are greater than 0.2 which means they path and the variables are highly related to each other and the model is fit.

FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS
From above analysis the model is found to be fit and the hypotheses are significant and the variables have a strong correlation with one another.So it can be easily understood that sensuality experience will increase overall brand equity.The sensory aspect of brand image refers to brand experiences, shaped through a consumer's physical senses (i.e., vision, smell, sound, touch, and taste).Sensuality reflects pleasant sensory experiences (Roberts, 2004).Sensuality creates a deep emotional attachment between brand and consumers.The nature of this bonding is very similar to the interpersonal love and attachment.
Sensuality perceptions arise out of different levels of cognitive and emotional abstraction and allow us to know how trustworthy the brand is.Brand respect is created by positive perception that consumers have towards a particular brand, based on evaluation of brand performance with the input from the perception of sensuality.Pleasing sensuality experience may trigger a feeling of love towards the brand.Thus, it is reasonable to expect a positive relationship between sensory experience and brand love.Brand equity is strongly interrelated with brand awareness, image, and loyalty which is created by the sensuality elements of the consumer based on the perception and experience they get from the outlet.This sensory experience may affect consumer perceptions of the product's aesthetic value and efficacy/usefulness, which affects perceived quality (i.e., performance) and this in turn leads to brand respect.The ambience associated with the brand creates a positive Rupini RV & Nandagopal R Sensory Branding in Cafe Coffee Day Outlets vibe so the brand is reliable and trustworthy.Brand love mediates the relationship between customer satisfaction and brand loyalty if an individual remains satisfied with a brand then it is likely that the satisfaction will get transformed into an emotional and passionate bonding with the brand.Loving a brand (and not mere satisfaction) is a step towards loyalty.

CONCLUSION
Thus Consumer psychologists focus on mental processes such as thinking, perceiving, remembering, and learning to get maximum benefit for the brand.In order to survive, brands will have to evaluate and integrate all their sensory touch points.Brands will need to have a sensory brand platform in the same way that human beings need oxygen.Providing sensory experience is very important for generating positive perceptions of a brand.Shopping and service experiences occur when a consumer interacts with a store's physical environment, its personnel, and its policies and practices.Sensuality therefore leads to brand trust, brand love, and brand respect and which in-turn leads to brand loyalty and to overall brand equity.This article explains how the senses affect the decision making and perception of consumers about the brand.
Yoo and Donthu (2001) developed a global measure, which according to their empirical studies capture brand equity.Their "overall brand equity" has been utilized by Atilgan et al. (2005) and Washburn and Plank (2002).Na et al., (1999) on the other hand uses satisfaction as a global measure of brand equity.Chandhuri and Holbrook (2001) proposed a model of brand loyalty that suggests that purchase/behavioral loyalty tends to lead to greater market share, while attitudinal loyalty leads to higher relative brand pricing.Previous studies show that loyalty is positively influenced by customer satisfaction (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993; Bloemer and Ruyter, 1998; Da Silva and Syed Alwi, 2006; Yang and Peterson, 2004).When consumers are satisfied with the brand, they are more likely to repurchase and recommend them to their family or friends (Benett and Rundle-Thiele, 2004).Also, customers' brand trust leads to brand loyalty.

Table. 1 :
Source: Summarized from Roberts (2004, pp.74-75) Overall Brand Equity Brand equity is strongly interconnected with brand awareness, brand image and brand loyalty (Gil, Andres and Salinas, 2007; Keller, 1993, 2001; Yoo et al., 2000).Previous studies found a strong effect of brand loyalty on overall brand equity (Gil et al., 2007; Taylor et al., 2004; Tong and Hawley, 2009b; Yoo et al., 2000).Yoo et al. (2009) demonstrated that the relationship of loyalty to overall brand equity was much stronger than that of other equity dimensions (i.e., perceived quality, brand awareness and associations).Based on the finding, Yoo et al. (2000) suggested that brand loyalty is the most important dimensions that affect an increase in overall brand equity.
Rupini RV & Nandagopal R Sensory Branding in Cafe Coffee Day OutletsCONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Fig. 3 :
Fig. 3: Conceptual model validation Terms used in the Model: S: Sensuality.BL: Brand Love.BR: Brand Respect.BT: Brand Trust Veloutsou et al., 2005).According to Geyskens et al(2009)satisfaction is an antecedent to trust.The level of satisfaction from the existing experience of contact with the company will influence the bond developed.Satisfaction contributes in consumer retention and is a key interpreter of loyalty (Beerli et al., 2004; Voss et al., 2010).Satisfaction is various contexts decodes in to loyalty when satisfaction is really high in various contexts (Harris and Goode, 2004; Chandrashekaran et al., 2007; Han et al., 2008; Christodoulides and Michaelidou, 2011).According to research trust, satisfaction and brand loyalty show a positive relation.

Table II :
Conceptual model by Rupini.R.V and Dr. Nandagopal.R, PSG Institute of Management, Coimbatore

Table . 3
: Estimated Domestic consumption.Source: INCREASING PRESENCE OF GLOBAL COFFEE GIANTS IN INDIAStarbucks : Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been dedicated to ethically sourcing and roasting the highest-quality arabica coffee in the world.Starbucks has Lavazza : Italy-based Barista Lavazza started its Indian operations in 2007.It currently operates about 318 stores across India, making it the second-largest coffee retail chain.Once considered to be a serious threat to Café Coffee Day (CCD), the company has, of late, decided to shut down some of its outlets amid restructuring moves.Other Players : Costa Coffee (UK), Mocha (India), Gloria Jean's (Australia), Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (US), and Dunkin Donuts (US) are the other prominent players in the Indian coffee retail market.They operate about 100, 18, 17, 17, and 5 outlets, respectively, in the country.Costa

:
Sensuality were initially represented by 39 variables of 11 represent visual, 7 from auditory, 6 from gustative, 9 from tactile and 6 from olfactory.The analysis began with purification using CITC values.The CITC values corresponding to each variable are shown in table below.At the end of the purification process all the 39 variables has passed the test.All variables having CITC values greater than 0.5 are taken and also tested for Cronbach value greater than 0.75 and the variable passes these test are taken into consideration.

Table VI :
Path coefficient value