Modern Branding: Multisensory Experience, Artificial Intelligence, and Meaning in the 2025 Era

Introduction

A brand is no longer just a name, logo, or color. It is an integrated, multisensory, meaningful, and human-centered experience that is engraved in the mind and heart of the consumer. This article takes a research-based approach to analyze the latest branding trends globally and in Iran, and, relying on up-to-date data, examines the strategic paths of successful brands.

 

1. Brand Redefined: Beyond the Name and the Logo

A brand represents the multisensory, cognitive, and emotional experience of the consumer toward a business or product. Brand elements include:

• Visual identity (logo, color, font)
• Customer experience
• Human narrative
• Emotional interactions
• Sense of meaning and belonging

A successful brand is the intelligent combination of these elements in the mind and emotions of the audience.

 

2. The Scientific Foundations of Branding in the Year 2024–2025

a) Multisensory Experience (Sensory Brand Experience)

A study by Zha et al. (2024) with 512 participants has shown that the simultaneous engagement of the five senses directly impacts loyalty, attachment, and repurchase behavior.

b) Design in Service of Experience

Design & Marketing (2024) emphasizes that design—from packaging to physical space—must be fully aligned with brand strategy and customer experience.

c) Human and Social Connection

A study published in the Journal of Product and Brand Management (2024) shows that brands in 2025 will fail without creating human interaction and a sense of social belonging.

3. Macro Trends in Branding in 2025

3.1 Multisensory Brands and Sensescaping

• Brands that engage multiple senses can enhance brand memory by up to 70%.
• The design of spatial experiences, such as Apple Stores or Disney Parks, is a successful example of sensescaping.

3.2 Meaningful and Ethics-Oriented Brands

• 71% of young consumers demand personalization and environmental sustainability (Attest, 2025).
• Brands with a social mission will have greater longevity.

3.3 Artificial Intelligence in Service of Branding

• From personalized recommenders to sentiment analysis, modern brands have elevated personalization to unprecedented levels with AI (Vizit, 2025).

 

4. Steps to Creating a Modern Brand

Phase	Description
Defining the Mission	A brand’s purpose should go beyond financial profit.
Creating a Multisensory Experience	Engaging the five senses at various touchpoints.
Human narrative	Storytelling, customer engagement, and creating a sense of belonging.
Integration of Design and Marketing	Design, UX, space, and communications must be aligned.
Sustainability and Authenticity	Authenticity in slogans, social initiatives, and environmental efforts.
Ongoing Evaluation	Behavior analysis, surveys, and artificial intelligence.

 

5. Comparative Case Study of Brands

Standard	Apple	Coca-Cola	Digikala	Nike	Snapp
Sensory Experience	Sight, Sound, Touch, Smell	Sight, Sound, Taste, Touch	Visual (Digital)	Sight, Sound, Motivation	Audio, Digital UX
Loyalty	Extremely high	Emotionally driven	Based on trust	Lifestyle	Accessible and Fast
Utilization of AI	Smart UX	Neuromarketing	Smart Recommender System	Performance Analysis	Path Scheduling
Foresight	Augmented Reality, Ecosystem	Nostalgia Campaign	Smart Logistics	Smart Athlete	Supplementary Services

 

6. Brand Implementation Actions (Action Plan)

Apple

• Multisensory Store Design
• Real-time User Feedback Analysis
• Development of Packaging with Emotional Unboxing

Coca-Cola

• AR Integration on the Bottle
• Continuation of Unique Beverage Sounds
• Nostalgia-Driven Campaigns

Digikala

• Artificial Intelligence in Recommender Systems
• Personalized Loyalty Dashboard
• Gamification in UX

Nike

• Digital Sports Clubs
• Use of Users' Sports Data
• Personalized Motivation in the App

Snapp

• Dynamic Scoring for Drivers
• Low-Traffic Time Algorithm
• Emotional Design of Sound and Graphics

 

7. Brand Assessment Indicators (Brand KPIs)

Key Metric	Definition	Suitable brand
NPS	Brand Referral Likelihood	All
CES	Complexity of the buying/service process	Digikala, Snapp
CSAT	General public satisfaction	Kalleh, Aparat
Brand Recall Rate	Brand recall rate	Coca-Cola، Apple
CLV	Customer Lifetime Value	Digikala, Apple
Emotion Engagement Index	Emotional depth of brand engagement	Coca-Cola، Nike

 

8. Conclusion

• Brands in 2025 need multisensory, meaningful, and human-centered experiences.

• Artificial intelligence, sustainability, integrated design, and human connection are inseparable components of the brand of the future.

• A successful brand means creating emotion, meaning, belonging, and loyalty through experience. 

 

9. References (APA Style)

1. Zha, D. et al. (2024). The impact of sensory branding on customer loyalty. Springer.
2. Stuart Crawford. (2025). Sensory Branding Strategies. Inkbot Design.
3. Attest. (2025, Jan). Consumers Demand Purpose-Driven Brands. https://www.askattest.com
4. Vizit. (2025, March). AI-Powered Sensory Experience in Digital Brands. https://www.vizit.com
5. Journal of Product & Brand Management. (2024). Emotional engagement and social branding. Emerald.
6. ColorColourCreative. (2025). Multisensory Branding Guide. https://colorcolourcreative.com
7. Reddit Testimony. (2023). Apple Packaging Experience. https://www.reddit.com
8. Rendomunicorn. (2024). Emotional Advertising in Coca-Cola Campaigns. https://rendomunicorn.com

The summary presented aims to draw your attention to the importance of branding for achieving success in today’s highly competitive world. I recommend following the related series of articles on our website that elaborate on its components.

I warmly welcome your ideas and feedback.