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Simply Speaking: Memory Makes Magic - “What’s Your Brand’s Madeleine?”
In this week's Simply Speaking, Shubhranshu Singh explores how our brains encode sensations—aromas, sounds, textures, and events—and how these sensory cues can later revive entire experiences.
"The Business of brands is the business of positive memory. Emotion is what people truly remember about a brand. Rarely is it the tagline or the quarterly campaign. Instead, it is the sensory anchor," writes Shubhranshu Singh.
In Marcel Proust’s monumental novel’ In Search of Lost Time’, a seemingly ordinary act becomes extraordinary.
The narrator, melancholy and distracted, dips a small, shell-shaped sponge cake, the madeleine, into a cup of tea. In an instant, a flood of childhood memories returns to him. He recalls Sundays in Combray, his aunt offering him the same cakes, and the emotions attached to those days.
This scene is no mere anecdote. It became one of literature’s most famous metaphors. The “Proustian madeleine” now stands for the power of sensory experience, especially taste and smell to unlock memories buried deep in the unconscious.
Unlike voluntary memory, where we consciously summon a past moment, this is involuntary memory that emerges unbidden, often triggered by a sensory spark.
The madeleine is not just about nostalgia. It shows us how memory works in practice.
Our brains encode sensations be it aromas, sounds, textures or events. Later, those sensory cues can pull entire experiences back to life. That is why the smell of rain on dry earth, the sound of a childhood ringtone, or the taste of a festival sweet can instantly transport us. This is also why audiovisual is such a powerful brand building medium because it engages more than one sensory faculty.
For brands and businesses, this is more than an interesting literary observation. It is a deep strategic insight into how people connect, recall, and remain loyal.
The Business of brands is the business of positive memory. Emotion is what people truly remember about a brand. Rarely is it the tagline or the quarterly campaign. Instead, it is the sensory anchor.
- The fizz , clink and smell of a Cola poured over ice.
- The Nokia ringtone that once defined a generation of mobile users.
- The rustle of Cadbury wrappers during school lunch breaks in India.
- The comforting smell of Vicks VapoRub, handed down across generations.
- The aroma and taste of Amul butter on hot toast
- The thump of a Royal Enfield Bullet
- The tangy, spicy bite of a Hajmola tablet
These are not mere brand assets. They are memory triggers, deeply tied to identity, family, and culture. They become a bridge between product and person, past and present.
In India, Proust’s madeleine feels especially resonant because our culture is steeped in sensory associations.
Think of the sing song call of vendors on the streets, the bang and boom of Diwali firecrackers, the fragrance of fresh marigolds at a temple, the earthy scent of monsoon rain, or the clinking of glasses at a roadside chai stall.
Each cue is more than a detail. It’s an emotional shortcut to belonging.
Brands that understand this can unlock a different kind of loyalty, one that is not transactional but rooted in memory.
By the way all this is even more important in an AI World. Today’s marketing ecosystem is hyper-digital, algorithm-driven, and campaigns are optimised for clicks, conversions, and impressions.
Yet this very efficiency risks flattening the emotional texture of brands.
In such a landscape, sensory anchors become a competitive edge. The future of loyalty may not lie in cheaper pricing or sharper targeting, but in those Proustian moments that outlast the noise. A jingle that endures, a scent that lingers, a texture that comforts.
Every brand should ask itself:
- What sensory cues do we own?
- Are we creating experiences that people will remember years later?
- Does our brand spark recall not only through advertising, but through sensory associations?
Great marketing is about memory and meaning. Proust’s madeleine is a reminder that to be remembered tomorrow, a brand must embed itself in the senses today.
The madeleine dipped into tea, gave the world a metaphor for how human beings connect past and present.
For businesses, the question is whether we can craft brands that endure because of positive rememberance.
Shubhranshu Singh is a business leader, cultural strategist and columnist. He was honoured as one of the 50 most influential global CMOs for 2025 by Forbes. He serves as the APAC representative on the EffieLIONS foundation board.
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