Sensory marketing cartography: A theory on sensory mappings

Abstract Sensory mapping, the process by which a sensory stimulus elicits a consumer response, is central to effective sensory marketing. Yet, research on the topic remains fragmented. First, the prevalence of construct proliferation, where a lack of distinction between a continuously growing array of similar terms, raises questions about how different types of sensory mappings should be defined. Second, sensory mappings have often been studied in isolation, even though they are interrelated in practice, where one stimulus can diverge into multiple responses and multiple stimuli can converge on a single response. Third, sensory stimuli are prone to mixed outcomes, enhancing or harming consumer evaluations. This paper addresses these challenges in two steps. First, a typology delineating sensory mappings based on sensory stimuli (physical vs. lexical) and consumer responses (sensory vs. semantic) is developed, yielding four key variants: sensory correspondence, semantic correspondence, sensory communication, and semantic communication. Second, a conceptual model is provided with propositions explaining how these sensory mapping types can be combined and how stimuli intensity and individual differences act as boundary conditions that explain mixed outcomes. Together, these frameworks underpin a future research agenda that offers directions to advance sensory marketing theory and practice.