All of our senses are interconnected and stimulating one will activate the others. Imagine what you smell while walking past a bakery when they’ve just pulled the bread out of the oven. You might not be able to see the bread, but you will be able to picture it from memory. You will imagine its warmth and what it tastes like. If you happen to be hungry you will have the physical response of your stomach growling as you remember how wonderful it was when you tasted it before.

A visual image can peak the viewers physical responses by touching their thoughts of the real thing. With the quick glance into the bakery window your tongue will ready itself for the taste as your nose anticipates the warm smoothness of the fresh bread smell. These are real responses that are instantly and vividly recalled from memory and those desires can be sparked from even the briefest visual input.

Visual input is what a marketing image is all about. The purpose of the marketing image is to give your customers a more full experience of your product. It accomplishes this by tying its information in with other information your customer already has. The visual information crosses the boundaries to the other senses. It lets your customer infer and anticipate the full sensory experience. An image that connects to memories from more than one touch point is more persuasive. It activates your customer senses and gives them more of a reason to make the purchase.

Marketing images dive deep into your customers thoughts to activate their senses and ring the bells of desire. Images are effective marketing communication tools because they work in the same way as the fresh bread aroma outside of the bakery. The person who has just encountered the aroma of freshly baked bread and recalls how good it tasted last time is more likely to step inside and buy a loaf or two today.