Audio Branding: ‘Tis the Season

by on 29 December, 2007 - 21:10

by: Roger DooleyMarketing
campaigns often focus primarily on the sense of vision, whether they
are purely visual elements like print ads and billboards, or even when
they have associated sound, like television commercials or retail
environments. I’ve written about olfactory marketing - appealing to the
sense of smell - but what about sound?

How can marketers go beyond
using audio to communicate benefits (or, even worse, speed read through
the legalese of a disclaimer) and incorporate a powerful branding or
other marketing message?

Most marketers
don’t ignore the possibilities of sound when it’s an available option.
They’ll use it productively for mood-setting music or a persuasive
voiceover. It’s possible, though, to go beyond the obvious. First,
let’s take a look at the potential impact of sound in a retail
environment:

In 1998, Adrian North, David
Hargreaves and Jennifer McKendrick ran a test in a British wine shop to
determine the role of background music in purchase decisions. For a
number of days they piped in French and German music, alternating
between the two. The results: on French-music days, the French wine
outsold the German wine by a ratio of four to one. On German-music
days, German wine outsold the French by a ratio of three to one.

The
same team also discovered that customers are likely to tolerate long
waiting times (both on the phone and in the real world), if and when
the hold/background music is enjoyable and fits our expectations. [From
Building Brand Value Through the Strategic Use of Sound by Noel Franus.]

So, as is common here at Neuromarketing,
it is clear that seemingly insignificant factors - even those of which
the customer isn’t consciously aware - can have a profound impact on
customer behavior.

Muzak
has been exploiting this phenomenon for decades, though for much of
that time they seemed to be primarily suppliers of bland “elevator
music” - relatively neutral instrumentals with extreme frequencies
filtered out. This was music designed primarily not to offend. Now,
Muzak considers itself an “audio branding” firm, capable of crafting a
musical background particularly suited to a firm’s overall branding and
positioning strategy. Here’s an example of a Muzak case study, Hotel Vitale:

Joie
de Vivre Hotels has built its brand upon the importance of appealing to
all five senses at every opportunity. And nowhere is that more apparent
than at Hotel Vitale. Located on the San Francisco bay, Hotel Vitale
features open, light-filled spaces and stunning water views. In
addition to water and light, elements like warm wood, sprigs of fresh
lavender and natural stones complete Hotel Vitale’s “Luxury, Naturally”
concept. This concept is enhanced by the Moodscapes music program, a
contemplative mix of pleasing instrumentals — creating a serene oasis
in the lobby and the soothing experience of a day spa throughout the
hotel.

Does it actually work? One has to believe
there’s a fair amount of guesswork when you are an “audio architect”
trying to come up with just the right branding music for a firm or
environment. Still, it seems likely that a diligent attempt, even if
imperfect and difficult to prove effective, is better than ignoring the
concept.

The holidays are singled out for special attention
by Muzak. Since the short holiday season can account for a greatly
disproportionate share of annual sales for many retailers, striking the
right musical mix to keep shoppers engaged can be of key importance.
According to Michael Morain of the Des Moines Register in Muzak creates soundtracks to shop by,
the firm works on both secular and non-secular holiday music packages.
They start the process in mid-summer, incorporating both traditional
carols and newer remixes of old favorites. Undoubtedly, holiday sound
tracks are less about branding and more about putting shoppers in a
festive and generous mood. Still, audio selections should still be
consistent with a brand’s image - Bing Crosby’s White Christmas might not work very well for a hip urban jeans shop.

United Airlines has taken a familiar composition, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue,
and made it their own (to the dismay of some music lovers). The airline
has cleverly used the theme in most of its ads, but has modified it in
many ways to vary the sound and keep it relevant to the ad content. For
example, for a television commercial promoting Asian destinations, the
familiar Rhapsody theme was arranged in an appropriately Asian style.
It appears in airports, too, at times. While nobody wants to sit for
hours listening to bastardized Gershwin, it’s an interesting addition
to passenger transit areas which are high traffic but where nobody
stays for very long.

Beyond Music

Music may be a
powerful mood-setter, but other auditory inputs can have a profound
impact as well. We’ve heard about the Mercedes door-slam team - a group
project to get the most appealing sound from a closing car door. One of
the more impressive auditory branding efforts I’ve seen is from Nextel,
the cell phone company that is now part of Sprint. They have always
offered a unique walkie-talkie feature which lets fellow Nextel users
initiate a conversation instantly by pushing one button. While most
cell features let the user choose from a range of sounds or ringtones,
Nextel did something smart: every Nextel phone emits a distinctive
chirp when in walkie-talkie mode. This chirp is unique and instantly
recognizable by any other Nextel user. They have incorporated the chirp
into their TV commercials, and one hears it often in public. This
powerful auditory branding message cost Nextel nothing other than the
courage to keep the sound consistent across phone styles and
generations, and to not let users easily change it. (It’s unfortunate
that the Nextel brand itself is probably doomed as it is engulfed by
Sprint - their Nextel Cup NASCAR branding was a waste if the Nextel
brand disappears, but it was well-targeted to the demographics of the
firm’s customers.)

What does your brand sound like?

Original Post: http://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog/articles/audio-branding.htm