Have you ever imagined your life without music? And, for that matter, the lives of other people? We use words and gestures to communicate, but I deeply believe that music is the greatest communication tool available today. Forget poems, books, lectures (but these, of course, are also very important!), and think about the power of music. A speech or gesture may not unite everyone in an audience, but music will definitely keep those people excited and participating. Hans Christian Andersen once famously said, “Where words fail, music speaks.” So it is with this “mantra” that I will delicately continue and that I ask you to remember as my words drift across your gaze. If they run through your mind melodically, rhythmically, then I will achieve my goal: to become a writer and a musician. A creator of musical words, so to speak.
In the world we live in, in the capitalist societies that attract us, music goes beyond its unquestionable human function and acts as a complementary asset for a specific force in this laissez-faire system: Marketing. Now, I ask you, is music just to be listened to? For the most part, yes, but when marketing comes into play, I disagree – the connection between these two fields is thought-provoking, to say the least.
There is an older and a younger son in this relationship, and music, of course, is the oldest and the one that carries the greatest importance and relevance for us humans. Science tells us that the oldest instrument ever discovered is the Neanderthal flute, an object that is almost 60,000 years old, and which was located in the northwest of what is now Slovenia. The holes in the instrument, according to experts on the subject, are signs that this ancient population was capable of developing and appreciating sophisticated artistic expressions. Marketing, in turn, was born from the Industrial Revolution and especially in the twentieth century, where competition between brands and products has become intense. As the supply of products increased drastically and all industries sought to produce more and more, the need to differentiate one brand from another became very important. At the time, marketing represented the opportunity to stay within the competition and perhaps, surpass this competition in the market through an increase in the cost of products.
When we think about music made in recent decades, many artists and songs come to mind. But for companies that want to increase their market share with marketing campaigns, what really matters is how to use this auditory tool to sell products and win and keep customers. And here's a very important fact, which has been statistically and scientifically proven: Audio has a strong cognitive connection with memory, and then, when we listen to music, we immediately link the stimulus to a memory we have. When I listen to Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker”, I remember, for example, the first time I saw it at the ballet in my hometown, in São Paulo. Well, another important observation for companies here is that customers and consumers may end up being victims of habituation, or a decreased reaction to the stimulus after repeated presentations. Therefore, as important as it is to attract new consumers with the familiarity generated by auditory expression, it is even more important that other stimuli such as design and writing are replaced to break this cycle of habituation.
Where music and marketing meet, the area of audio branding, or sound branding. The concept of using sounds to communicate with consumers is not new–the first “jingle” was created around 1926, and was used in a commercial by General Mills. Since then, the impact that audio has had on marketing campaigns has only grown. What's more, since the music makes our brain release more dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for making us feel pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation, companies can use these auditory tools to build commercials, advertising, and marketing campaigns that have a physiological effect on our body. Music in marketing can also be used in specific ways to influence how much consumers are willing to pay for a certain service or product. In 1982, Ronald E. Millman published an article that examined the consumption behavior of people based to the rhythm of ambient music. He discovered that, when ambient music was faster, consumers moved more quickly within a store, and only bought what they came to pick up, without wandering around the space. In contrast, when the pace was slower, consumers tended to stay longer and, as a result, ended up browsing and buying more. This example serves as an explanation to clarify the simple fact that music, in the right style and rhythm, can profoundly impact consumers' consumption habits. Music evokes memories, memories evoke feelings, feelings influence behaviors, and behaviors result in purchasing decisions. That simple.
In Branding, music and marketing are incredibly connected. When we open our Mac laptop (forgive me all Microsoft users), for example, we hear the rumbling sound of the F sharp major chord. Ah, what a pleasure to hear this sound for the first time, as if it were an initiation ritual for modern times. Forgive me for making this comparison, but it seems appropriate in the societies we live in and the situations we find ourselves in. It would be useless to try to extract a meaning from this chord through words and denominations, since the sound itself does not need elaboration beyond its own reverberation. Some of the most famous brands were able to attach a sound to their brand identity–think Netflix, LG, Old Spice, the list goes on, and using this strategy, these brands are able to increase their familiarity and emotionally connect with consumers. Another example of this strategy was used by Coca-Cola, with the song “Holidays are Coming”. It's impossible not to think about Christmas when we hear it!
From a purely psychological perspective, music can affect us as consumers on a subconscious level. To understand this, I direct my attention to Binet and Field's book “The Long and the Short of it,” in which they present two theories of how music can be processed by our brain. The first is by high attention pathway, and here is where we actively engage with music on a purely conscious level, when we are aware of the lyrics, rhythm, and other details of a sound or the song itself. Brands use this strategy when they want some type of short engagement from consumers, and when they will use their rational behavior to buy or agree with a specific product or message. Sounds simple, right? Well, things start to get deeper when music “penetrates” our subconscious. This brings us to the second theory of how music can be processed, through the low attention pathway. Have you ever noticed yourself watching a commercial and, as you watch it, notice that you become more and more invested the longer you watch it? This is because when we are watching, we are not necessarily paying attention to the music because it is not in the foreground in the commercial. What occupies this plane are images and messages, so the sounds themselves end up going to our subconscious, without us noticing. This may sound like an unnecessary security tactic. brainwashing, but the truth is that brands that manage to use this subconscious strategy end up hooking us the more we interact with their commercial or marketing plan. When our subconscious activates, emotions begin to surface and we begin to remember a brand the way it made us feel, even when we weren't feeling anything when we first saw its message! And that's also why we like to say: Emotions are the key to people's pockets. An exploratory but true marketing tactic.
Music and marketing may seem like distant topics, but they have more in common than you think. For me, when I hear the startup sound of Netflix or a Macbook Air, I immediately remember the times I spent the night watching a movie or writing an essay for a university class. That's why I say that music is the greatest communication tool there is, because it transcends barriers, breaks down borders, and connects people from different parts of the world. There is no word, gesture or painting that can replace the art of sonic expression. So, for marketing professionals and the world of Branding, music should become an essential part of business strategies, and not an additional tool only used at the end. Music needs to be treated like any other form of communication, but it isn't, right? She is much more than that. She is our resource when we are in need of affection and comfort and when things are not going well, she is often our only friend when others are not there to help us. She doesn't judge you, and all she asks is for you to open your mind and ears.
And so, I return to my question, what would the world be without music? Of course, things would be very different, so let's not waste any more time imagining this terrible scenario. Let's instead, as Branding professionals, explore what music has to offer us, one note at a time.
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