Sound Branding, Brand Alliances With Music, or Branded Entertainment, call it what you like, these are effectively a form of advertising disguised as: a game, event, sponsorship or hospitality. Midem, the largest international music convention dedicated several sessions to that almost Holy Grail, ‘How Can Bands and Brands Work Together?’ So it is not surprising that some serious players from the brands were invited to take the stage, from Nokia to Coca-Cola (‘Top Brands talk Music Strategy’ and ‘Converse, Pepsi and Cornerstone talk Music Marketing’). Music and Brands are big business. According to the Association of National Advertisers, in 2006, the top 100 US advertisers splashed between $150 million and $2 billion just on sound-enabled media, such TV ads and the Internet. In the UK, it is estimated that in 2008 the production spend on acquiring copyright music for synchronization, that is the right to choose a well known track and use it in a commercial, hit £60m ($98.8 million). Current predictions are that in the next decade, advertisers will be looking to invest an eye-watering $240 billion on branded entertainment.

With marketers freely admitting that music makes up 50% of the total consumer experience, it may have been a little surprising for the Music Industry to learn from Emmanuel Seuge of The Coca-Cola Company “The music industry is much more open and willing to find new creative models in the way we interact with them…but at the same time it’s much more complex. The management of the artists are more smart marketeers than I am! They have a real vision of what they want to do with their artists, and the artists themselves have a point of view. Aligning everyone on a shared view is the challenge.”

This brave comment goes straight to the heart of the issue and it may be some consolation for Emmanuel to learn that he is no alone. Whilst 63% of Brand marketers use music, 56% have no idea how to measure the use of sound and music and 20% don’t even try (Resource Association of National Advertisers).

So having heard from the Brands – it was the turn of the Music Industry to take the stage. Management giants like Chris Morrison from CMO Management (Blur, Gorillaz, Grace Jones and many more) had some very important things to say about bands and brands. Morrison agreed that Brands will be involved in some of his artist projects with a word of warning: “You have to be very careful about branding – there’s a great danger of music being corporatised at this point, and I see things that certainly worry me considerably.” When asked what kind of things Morrison is seeing that he doesn’t like: “The Duffy Coca-Cola ad was abysmal, and Robbie Williams on T-Mobile was terrible…You have to be very very careful with how you associate with brands.”

One thing is for sure, simply slapping a brand logo on stages is very different to becoming true partners. And with an increasing number of events and artists now wanting to enter the dialogue and the projected figures brands are willing to invest, we have to be talking real music strategy rather than just brand involvement. We know that just like any relationship, it will need trust, honesty, shared values and vision and that will mean a shift to what can I do for you, from WIFM. Then Emmanuel, we can start to get real alliance round the table.

Ruth Simmons, CEO
soundlounge

The very first sonic logo I heard was at 12 weeks gestation. It was my mother’s heartbeat. The second was her voice. These two simple sounds gave me a sense of self and my first, albeit hazy, understanding of the world outside. With these audio clues, I could tell not only where my mother was but also whether her surroundings were exciting or calm, happy or sad, dangerous or safe. I even heard my mother’s language and imitated it in my own cries. From the moment I was born, I was able to recognise like-minded spirits simply from the sounds that I heard.

But I was no baby genius. This ability to detect subtle changes in mood, geography, safety and hostility just by listening is a survival skill inherent in us all. The truth is that sound is one of the most sophisticated communication tools that we possess and one that neuroscientists are just beginning to understand.

We are physiologically programmed to respond to nature. Most of us find the sound of the sea very soothing, and not just because it reminds us of holidays. Its frequency of 12 cycles per minute is actually the same as the breathing frequency of a sleeping human. Birdsong also promotes feelings of well-being. We know instinctively that when the birds are singing we are safe; when they stop, we get worried. BP have recently installed birdsong soundscapes in their toilets as part of their campaign of stimulating a sense of well being and calm for their motorist customers. Check out the number of garages that play heavy rock. As my colleague Julian Treasure remarks – if motorists are listening to sounds like that, are they ever going to drive within the speed limit?

So if getting close to nature is one way to connect with humans very quickly are brands using these stimuli to connect with consumers? The answer is yes.

Take MGM. Nothing says louder that I am ‘king of the jungle’ than the roar of a lion. In a time of intense competition and a city that felt like a human jungle, Metro Goldwyn Meyer adopted the lion’s roar as their logo.

But one brand takes us right back to Mama. Check out Audi’s sonic logo blatantly based on the human heartbeat. The ultimate endorsement of safety and life itself. Where’s my dummy?

Ruth Simmons, CEO
soundlounge

Music is one of the most valuable tools at an advertiser’s disposal. In 2006, the top 100 US advertisers splashed between $150 million and $2 billion just on sound-enabled media, such TV ads and the Internet, according to the Association of National Advertisers. In the UK, it is estimated that in 2008 the spend on acquiring copyright music for synchronization hit £60m ($98.8 million).

But brands have worked to understand how a particular target group, with shared values and aspirations, forms a loyalty to a specific brand. They have figured out how to manage and measure how we respond to color, texture, lighting, and other apparently visceral stimuli. So is sound simply the next frontier?

For the full article, please click here.

As I was watching Sprint’s clever “What if ____ ran the world?” ads, I noticed they used no music, no jingles, nothing that would traditionally qualify as a sonic logo. Only one sound stands out consistently in each ad: the walkie-talkie-like bleep of the Sprint phone itself. And every time we hear it in Sprint’s commercials, it’s followed by a joke. By the end of each ad, we’ve heard it 6 to 12 times, and it’s no longer just a phone bleep. It’s a brilliantly timed comic device that has preconditioned us to laughter.

Of course, the same sound can mean vastly different things for different people. For the majority of us, the sound of an incoming text message is exciting, a happy beep signaling a new message from a friend. But for my mother, it’s a sound that strikes terror in her heart and gets her adrenaline flowing. For her, it means she’s received a text from my younger brother in Africa. Often his messages bear bad news – he was robbed on the street once and lost all his money. So this seemingly harmless sound evokes fear and maternal instincts in a split second. One day she told me, “I hate that sound more than any other sound.” Who knew a simple, neutral beep could stir up such an emotional reaction?

The finest sound designer can craft the most perfect sound for your brand, but context is everything. Though most of us don’t start salivating, we’re a lot like Pavlov’s dogs once we’ve been trained to hear a sound in a certain way. Sprint was smart; they trained us from the beginning to hear their phones as fun, even before we interact with one in real life. As soon as a strong sonic branding plan meets a positive customer experience, the Pavlovian buttons will be pushed in just the right ways. For 99.9% of us, this is good news. For the unfortunate alarm clock marketers of the world…I wish you luck.

Charlie McCarron, Sound Consultant
soundlounge

The most important piece of business advice I was ever given when I first started talking about sonic and sound branding, was from John Bartle, the first B in BBH. “Yes’ he observed profoundly, “all that theory is all very interesting but can you measure it? If you can’t measure it, it ain’t any bloody use to me”.

Those of us who were in Hamburg at the beginning of November for the first ‘Audio Branding Congress’ in the world appreciated that brands are now acknowledging the emotional importance of using sound and music in their marketing. Some are looking at imposing more rigour into the process of choosing and briefing music, but existing business evaluation frameworks are still ‘missing a beat’. It would seem that cost outlay and how to reduce that investment into procurement and production fees is still the only metric that is applied to measure the value of music by those brand guardians in charge of the process

But it was in Hamburg, amongst much sharing of sound branding concepts and processes, I realised that I owed a huge debt to John. He was so right. Understanding how to define and produce a sound identity is just the first step. For if brands are to understand the role and impact of music, they need systems that allow for comparison of costs against market rates, potential savings, process optimisation and best practices is vital. What is allocated to finding and acquiring music properties will then be an easier conversation. It has taken my team and myself at soundlounge 10 years, but it was so worth it.

Ruth Simmons, CEO
soundlounge

For further reading: Putting the Metrics into Music.

Here at soundlounge, we’ve been working with brands to understand and develop their sound branding for nearly three decades. We’d like to share some of the most common sonic branding sins and some simple strategies you can apply for absolution.

1. LUST – Being seduced by the Music Industry. Being offered a link up with an iconic artist or a hit song can seem irresistible. And it’s true that well-known tracks in a commercial can create an instant emotional connection with consumers. But if the popularity of the song overshadows the advertiser’s message and consumers remember the song and not the product, it can prove to be a very expensive liaison.

SOLUTION: Resist the temptation to just look for hit tracks and big names. Have plan B and C and consider music from unknown or emerging artists; explore library music or commission an original composition. Re-record/re-invent an existing copyright so that you incorporate your brand sound DNA. Challenge and rationalise creative choices against fees and costs.

Read more…

Sonic branding – if you haven’t heard this term already, it’s the art of finding music and sounds to fit a brand’s identity. In the past, a brand’s sound was defined by a single catchy jingle. Jingles work well as mnemonic devices, but a one-song brand can’t stay fresh forever.

Imagine if The Beatles had been told by their record label “We think the song ‘Love Me Do’ defines you as a band. Just keep making songs exactly like that.” No self-respecting musician would listen to advice like this. And no brand should, either. Sonic branding today is not about finding one magical hit song. It’s about creating a complete sonic identify, a palette of sounds and music that can be used in any ad campaign. A strong sonic identity will be recognised even as the song selection changes.

Think of the palette of sounds that make up the classic Beatles style. Though their songwriting matured and musical tastes expanded over the years, The Beatles’ sonic identity was unmistakable. Listen to this medley:

Beatles Medley

So what about ‘Revolution 9’ and all the other crazy Beatles experiments? Although ‘Revolution 9’ is a far, far cry from ‘Love Me Do’, even this anomaly could have been predicted. Each new Beatles sound grew organically from roots in previous Beatles songs. ‘Revolution 9’ was inspired by experimental tape songs like the psychedelic ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’. And ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ stole its thumping beat from the early ‘What You’re Doing’. The Beatles experimented, yes, but their music grew with their audience’s expectations of them as a band.

The bottom line for brands is that a sonic identity can evolve and expand over time, whereas a jingle cannot. Having a strong sonic identity does not mean being stuck with a certain melody, song, or genre. How boring would that be for advertisers, let alone their customers? Instead, a strong sonic identity allows a brand to cohesively adapt to the future, and stay fresh but recognisable.

Charlie McCarron, Sound Consultant

soundlounge

The chef has been trained by Pierre White; the service is 5 star; the décor is a designer’s dream, but there’s something missing. You can’t quite put your finger on it but you just don’t feel right. You eat there once and never go back.

Recent research by Psychologist Charles Areni has revealed that successful restaurants also understand that sound can be as influential as the food itself in creating our gut impressions of a restaurant.

Customers Eat by the Beat

Many of the managers interviewed claimed that they could change a person’s dining speed just by changing the tempo of the background music. Sounds like a bold claim, but it actually works! Research shows that diners subconsciously match their eating speed with musical speed.

“Over our morning tea when we’re really busy and people are only here for a short stay we play slightly more up-tempo music, sort of like funky jazz kind of music to encourage that sort of move in, move out, because we want to turn our seats over as fast as possible”

Is Background Music Always Needed In A Restaurant?

Read more…

We all know that brands love music but if they are to use sound to emotionally engage with consumers then understanding exactly how it affects them has to be at the very heart of sound branding. While great luminaries like Dr Daniel Levitin – Professor of Psychology and Behavioural Neuroscience and author of the groundbreaking This is Your Brain on Music – have been considering this on an intellectual level for many years, agencies still appear to be dragging their heels when it comes to putting a science to the art of sound branding. But last week, Levitin’s scientific paper Life Soundtrack (commissioned by Philips Consumer Electronics in 2007) re-emerged in the somewhat unlikely format of an article in Men’s Health Magazine. According to the report, music affects the human brain in a huge variety of ways, allowing us to utilise certain types or genres of music to help complete different tasks. This is supported by consumer analysis carried out by Entertainment Media Research (EMR) which found that an impressive 82 per cent of us use music to boost our spirits. It also revealed that 75 per cent of people use music when they are engaged in a physical activity from housework to the gym and even sex! Read more…

The ‘sound of the brand’ is more than the melody within eight octaves. It is not just about genre or lyrics. Nor does it necessarily relate to the choice of artist or a musical identity. The sound of the brand is about values, behaviour and how this is communicated. It is about reaching and engaging with the emotional touch points of the listener – a process that requires a deeper understanding than embracing their contextual touch points.

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