Transformation +
Tranquility
03: Cultivation of ritual
Staff Note: The modum for connecting with clients no longer happens in any given place of business, rather long before your clients even leave their homes as most successfully demonstrated by Aesop long before its soon coming trickle down to other industries.
A 10/25 memo from:
-Bryan, USA
26, he/him
You know the story, and you surely know the products. Whether it’s been hallmarking your favorite Brooklyn spots since 2013 or found in the hotel bathroom where you took your most beloved mirror selfie, Aesop has come to dominate a highly ritualized niche of consumer—often labeled (perhaps too brashly) as "quiet luxury" by the media. It’s a status symbol, yes—but as consumers first, we often only perceive status symbols in this narrow light. We see these rapidly growing icons merely as moments in time—badges of cultural capital, ranking, or range.
This common oversight glosses over a deeper truth: Aesop’s cunning use of sensory-sensitive marketing to connect with and anchor itself in the lives of clients—long before they step into a storefront. For the better part of the 2010s—and increasingly today—a growing number of forward-thinking companies have followed suit, using similar strategies to close sales before they even happen: by meeting clients in the intimate spaces of their daily lives.
Dennis, a notoriously simple thinker and introvert, insisted that Aesop meet clients where they stood the moment they woke. When the company began gaining traction in the late 2000s, instead of flooding big-box retailers like its contemporaries or advertising with the latest Mission Impossible star, Dennis focused on getting Aesop’s offerings into the homes of even its most casual visitors.
He wagered the future of what is now a billion-dollar cosmetics empire on a truth that remains one of the most commercially underutilized frontiers in marketing: sensory-oriented connection.
This risky idea, first sparked in Aesop’s early boom years, solidified in the 2010s with a simple but powerful practice: offering complimentary single-use samples with every purchase—regardless of size. This positioned Aesop not just behind the windows of a storefront, but on the bathroom counters and shower shelves of both prospective and existing clients.
Consider the average Aesop user who returns bi-monthly to restock hand soap. That need is already fulfilled—there's no urgency to revisit. But when that hand soap comes with a sample of their immaculate facial toner, Aesop subtly extends its presence from the sink to the shower.
The client didn’t even realize it. But as soon as they run out of their current toner, there’s that little sample, waiting. A silent ambassador.
It’s sensory-oriented marketing at its best: practical, meaningful, and most importantly—effective. Dennis had successfully leveraged the tranquility of the home to transform his clients’ buying habits.
“It’s the cosmetics industry, of course it worked for Aesop.”The lesson doesn’t lie within any single industry. Rather, it resides in the good-faith practice of connecting with clients in their most private settings, through needs that already exist—their senses.This approach is universally adoptable. These needs transcend demographics and geography, making sensory engagement the final frontier of genuine connection in the modern era.It’s an obvious truth: we occupy market share in industries dominated by noise, screens, and fleeting attention. But what if you reached your clients before your competitor’s restaurant posted that polished reel convincing them to switch their 6:00 PM booking? Consumers only think of you when you place something in front of them—when you give them a reason to. So, be there. Not just when they arrive, but six times a day, as they wash their hands, when no other noise is competing for their attention. This is the future of authentic connection.
It’s transformation through tranquility.