Lesson 5: Engage All the Senses
The five senses are the gateway to the inner self. A strong brand should be a promise that appeals the inner self. To touch the inner self, all of the senses should be engaged to their fullest extent. The Catholic Church does a masterful job making the brand promise and then reflecting it in each of the senses. The Church engages the sight in big ways, such as monumental cathedrals with intricate stained glass to small ways, such as the sign of the cross. The Catholic sounds are reflected in Gregorian chants, simple hymns, and the bells. The smell of incense often fills the air during special ceremonies. Baptism and anointing with oils are a couple of the ways that the brand is communicated through touch. (Perhaps one of my favorite examples of touch is the blessing of the throat. What feast day does that represent?) Finally, taste is evoked in the communion, with the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the wine.
When developing your brand, it is important to understand your brand promise, and then find ways of reflecting that promises through each of the senses.
posted by M. Scott Laemmle @ 6:16 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Someone else already answered that it's St. Blaise. Story goes that a little boy was choking on a fish bone, and St. Blaise saved the boy, hence the blessing of the throat.
Thank you for the input - it is very helpful.
Another thing that has always stuck in my mind is Confession. The dark colors, the small confessional, kneeling before a priest... It is a powerful experience. Even to this day and as a non-believer I am still moved by the power of this experience. I cannot imagine what it would be like to go back now and say, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been twenty years since my last confession..."
Experiences like this go a long way in strengthening the brand and getting into the hearts and minds of the consumer.
BTW - Check out vtr14's comments on reconciliation at his blog: Catholic Questions and Thoughts
Son, 'blessing of the throat. What feast day does that represent?) -
Little is known about Saint Blaise prior to his mention in a court physician's medical journal. The physician, Aëtius Amidenus, spoke of Saint Blaise's aid in treating objects caught in the throat. He was also mentioned in the book of Acts, where he was aided by animals and treated people and beasts alike.
Saint Blaise is believed to begin as a healer then, eventually, became a "physician of souls." He then retired to a cave, where he remained in prayer. People often turned to Saint Blaise for healing miracles.
In 316, the governor of Cappadocia and of Lesser Armenia, Agricola, arrested then-bishop Blaise for being a Christian. On their way to the jail, a woman set her only son, who was chocking to death on a fish bone, at his feet.
Blaise cured the child, and though Agricola was amazed, he could not get Blaise to renounce his faith. Therefore, Agricola beat Blaise with a stick and tore at his flesh with iron combs before beheading him.
In another tale, Blaise was being led to the prison in Sebastea, and on the way came across a poor old woman whose pig had been stolen by a wolf. Blaise commanded the wolf return the pig, which it did -alive and uninjured - to the amazement of all.
When he reached Sebastea, the woman came to him and brought two fine wax candles in an attempt to dispel the gloom of his darkened cell.....
Source: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=28
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