This is the second part of a three part series on sonic branding. Don't forget to also take a look at ''Part 1 - What is sonic branding?'' and ''Part 3 - A strategy for developing sonic brand assets''.
Music has only been documented and archived for a couple hundred of years. The possibilities for recording and playback have been around even shorter, but obviously people have been making music and listening to music for centuries. But why is that? And how is the modern world affecting the way we’re using sound and our listening experience?
#1 Functions of sound & music
Even though there isn’t any physical evidence - such as carvings in stone - on the early origins of music, it’s assumed that the function of music has always been to convey stories and emotions in a social context: think about work songs or war marches, hymns for the deceased and lullabies for babies and young children. Sound was one of the most effective ways to coordinate group activities and reinforce social bonds.
Surveys have shown that different age groups listen to music for different reasons. Interviews conducted with young people showed that their usage of music was often related to friends, venting, dancing, moral values, politics and culture whereas older people and seniors were more focussed on life events, wellbeing, escapism and spirituality. On a very broad level one could say there are three basic dimensions how people use music in their daily lives:
Self awareness functions (eg. music helps me cope, believe or give comfort)
Social relatedness (eg. music helps me express identity, connect, understand culture)
Arousal and mood regulation (music makes me focus, cheerful or energetic)
Why is it beneficial to have an understanding about this? When creating branding and marketing assets it can help to set the tone and direction of the briefing process at an early stage. Usually when doing marketing for products the aim is to activate self awareness functions. If you’re developing branding or marketing assets for an event you will probably lean more into functions of social relatedness and mood regulation.
Please take note that the three dimensions listed above are a simplification of what we’ve found when reading through various papers, articles and studies. Time and again researchers will actually describe four dimensions, but for the sake of this paper which is focused on branding and marketing applications - and is not a psychological publication - we’ve decided to demonstrate it like this.
#2 Taking human perception into account
Music is a very subjective medium. Listener perception can vary widely because of personal preference, social upbringing and even the playback environment. Even though there isn’t a general consensus about which emotions are communicated and intended through music, usually it boils down to the following categories:
Joyful music
Stirring music
Tranquil music
Sad-sounding music
There are also many varying models that try to categorise the common human emotions that can be evoked by music. In terms of age, compared to younger children, older listeners can recognize the perceived emotion in music more correctly. Often, older listeners hold more emotional and life experiences, and music sometimes will evoke personal and private memories which also lead to more complex feelings and emotions. Examples of emotions that listeners can experience are:
Wonder
Transcendence
Tenderness
Sadness
Nostalgia
Peacefulness
Power
Joy
Tension
When talking about the human perception of music it is also necessary to take the loudness factor into account. Sound pressure level (SPL) is a unit that is used to measure the level of sound present at a particular point. Research has shown that the preferred SPL (with earphones) for men was 5.4 decibels higher than that for women. Although loudness is subjective, music with high SPL can increase perceived activation and tension.
Last but not least, tempo variation has consistently been associated with different emotional responses to music. Tempo of music can be classified based on beats per minute (BPM) into three types: slow (<100), medium (100-135), and fast (>135). Findings from a study on the effects of the sound environment on communication emotion indicate that in terms of musical tempo, fast music played a more positive role in communication compared to music of slow- and medium-tempo music. This same study also indicates that happy and sad reactions can be influenced by tempo and that feelings of joy, activation and anger will increase as the tempo of music rises.
#3 The subconscious power of music and sound in a modern world
Studies conducted in supermarkets found that playing French music led to French wines outselling German ones, whereas German music led to the opposite effect. It also became evident that playing country music resulted in an increase in the purchases of utilities, while classical music had people reaching further into their pockets for luxury items. Furthermore, significantly higher profits were earned by the supermarket by simply playing slower music. Consumers who heard recognizable tracks spent nearly 8% less time shopping, whilst people who heard unfamiliar music perceived time to pass quicker. Overall, people were prepared to spend the most when classical music was playing, about 20% more than average.
Now you’re probably wondering: ‘’how does this affect me? I don’t own a supermarket or corner store. I offer digital services to my clients.’’ Well, the mechanism that’s actually the most powerful for brands is the link between sound and memory. In essence we’re talking about a Pavlovian response but often this is also referred to as the ‘’mere exposure effect’’. This means that through constant repetition of certain brand assets a level of consumer trust and sympathy can be achieved, with all sorts of positive effects for brands and organisations as a result. If a brand can harness sound and emotion in such a way, they’re on the right path. This is where the importance of distinctive sonic branding that matches a company's identity comes into play.
To summarise:
Different age groups listen to music for different purposes.
Understanding why people use music be supportive during a briefing.
Listener perception can vary because of i.a. emotional experience, SPL and tempo.
Constant repetition of (sonic) brand assets creates consumer trust and sympathy.
This blogpost is part two of three in a series about developing sonic brand assets and how to apply them when creating marketing and advertising output. Most online resources are still quite limited and incomplete when it comes to providing a more in-depth approach to developing sonic assets. By creating this guide we hope to shine some light on the still relatively new industry that is sonic branding 2.0. In part three we'll discuss how you can create a strategy.
If you have any questions regarding sonic branding, or looking to explore options for your organisation or business, don’t hesitate to contact us. #absoloetlie is exactly what you need. Online visibility with a creative approach. From brand strategies to social content creation and scheduling. From concept, visual design to short- or long copy. Every day we develop campaigns and original content for brands and companies of all sizes. On location or remote. No nonsense, just good and honest work. What you see is what you get. The Rotterdam way.