The Power of Sound

Is it me or does a great soundtrack just make all advertising better?

There’s something innate between humans and music and my god have some brands (and their talented agencies) nailed it.

We’re all aware of some of the obvious successes that pair a brand with an iconic soundtrack that we’re now unable to disassociate. If I say Phil Collins, I guarantee a well-known purple confectionery brand ft. a gorilla springs to mind or what about the unmistakeable lyrics of Etta James … “I don’t want you, to work all day” for Diet Coke.  

But what is it about sound that makes an advert so memorable?

Of course, it could be that you just like that song but after seeing it on an advert your brain will struggle to disassociate. An interesting paper on the role of musical priming in brand recall by G Levrini, C Schaeffer & W Nique (5:32, 2020) found that 40% of their sample “recognised a musical priming effect” and background music does elicit an emotional response in consumers.

Amy Belfi, Cognitive Neuroscientist at NYU supported this “[We all have] visceral responses to different types of audio”, so, if that response evokes a positive emotion, a consumer is more likely to engage with that brand, form an affiliation and ultimately is more likely to buy.

According to some research conducted by Spotify “Audio ads are memorable and motivational, they drove 24% higher recall than display ads, and were twice as likely to lift purchase intent”. There's no denying that I can definitely recognise this in my own buying habits and affinity to brands.

For me, the audios that have resonated recently; Airbnb’s beautifully executed advert ft. the infamous Jay-z ’03 Bonnie & Clyde – that one got me good. Deliveroo, but its’ Snoop over Cardi for me, Dior “And you, what would you do for love” said rather sultry over Sia’s Chandelier, EE’s WIFI going down ad featuring Faithless Insomnia and Levis use of Toots and the Maytals for their “greatest story ever worn” campaign.

Perhaps they’re memorable to me just due to the song but did that feel good, narrative make me google Levis immediately – yes, yes it did.

The same goes for jingles, those things do not leave you.

McDonald’s remain the champs at this, followed by perhaps Asda (did you pat your bum?), GoCompare – gosh that was a lot, “just one Cornettooooo”, p-p-p-p pick up a …. And let’s not forget the business that’s managed to make their audio branding more recognisable than their visual one, WeBuyAnyCar dot com who’ve successfully switched their audio branding to “just sold my carrrrrr”.

All these examples demonstrate the effectiveness of sonic branding. It’s been in play since 1926 (Wheaties, Christmas) but can get neglected by brands who don’t have tv ad budgets.

For me, audio should always be considered when creating campaigns, brands and digital collateral. It’s just another sense that we, as agencies, should stimulate; it forms a brands personality, it should provoke emotion, it should create a smile in the mind that make a consumer think “I like that” and ultimately engage.

 

References:

https://faculty.up.edu.pe/en/publications/the-role-of-musical-priming-in-brand-recall

Published By:

CreateInc team Katie Moran

Katie Moran

Director