Mitch Bishop, CMO at Cloud Cover Music
It’s well documented that branding influences the public’s overall perception of a company. While many companies place the focus solely on the visual aspects of their brand, the most successful brands take a holistic approach to create an entire brand experience.
An auditory identity is a crucial, yet often overlooked, component of a successful brand, especially for retailers, restaurants, and any brick and mortar business. Music is a powerful marketing tool, and the right music choice creates a significant impact on brand perception and customer experience.
How Music Choice Contributes to Your Brand.
Music elicits emotion, which contributes to a powerful brand experience. The right music for a brand can forge positive associations and elicit the desired emotional response from consumers.
Music impacts branding in several ways:
Attracts the Ideal Customers.
Music attracts consumers In the same way as a brand’s imagery. Using the right music with a target audience can help connect with potential customers at a deeper level while adding to the overall positive experience of the brand.
Determining the right music depends on the brand’s target demographic as well as the intended response. Customizing a brand’s music choice based on these factors is essential.
Creates Brand Atmosphere.
Banks, restaurants, grocery stores, doctors offices – anywhere that customers congregate – can benefit from the use of music at their location. Music creates an ambiance and an atmosphere, setting the tone for the entire customer experience. For example, soothing, slower music increases dwell time while upbeat music lowers perceived wait times.
It is important to note that the wrong kind of music can have the opposite effect. Playing heavy metal music in a spa, for example, would create a negative brand association and can prevent customers from returning.
Increases Brand Awareness and Recognition.
Consumers associate the songs they hear in commercials and physical locations with the brands that use them. Popular examples include the soothing sound of the iPhone “swish” when sending an email or the upbeat drumming when the 21st Century Fox logo displays on a movie screen.
The same concept applies for the use of popular music. Nike’s choice of the Beatles’ “Revolution” or Kindle’s use of “Fly Me Away” immediately resonates with their intended audiences and creates an association with their brand.
Promotes Customer Engagement.
Music has several effects on the brain. Listening to music promotes the release of dopamine, the ‘feel good’ hormone, as well as helps increase focus and improves memory.This chemical reaction in the brain helps customers associate your brand with a positive experience.
Because people connect with music on an emotional level, choosing the right music for your brand creates positive association and increases dwell time, sales, and repeat customers.
Enhances Brand Experience.
Just as the use of logos and other visuals, auditory marketing creates a cohesive brand experience. Successful brands provide customers with a consistent and intentional experience. The addition of auditory stimulation means an overall sensory experience, eliciting both emotional and psychological reactions.
Creates a Cross-Cultural Connection.
Music is the “universal language,” giving us the ability to communicate and influence emotions regardless of the language spoken. The intentional use of certain tracks for an international audience is a powerful tool. Music choice plays a role in connecting with consumers from various countries and cultures, creating a common bond.
Boosts Staff Morale and Productivity.
Employees within a workplace can also benefit from the right music, which in turn positively impacts a business’s bottom line. Music has shown to increase concentration, accuracy, and productivity, as well as reduces workplace stress.
In addition to the increase in workplace performance, music can contribute to overall employee wellness, playing a role in lowering blood pressure and cortisol levels. One study shows that listening to music while working results in an increase of morale and energy in up to 61% of employees.
What Does Your Brand Sound Like?
Sensory marketing plays an integral role in brand experience and speaking to a target audience. Whether the intention is to influence an action such as increasing dwell time or purchase activity, or an elicit emotion such as excitement, melancholy, or determination, music is a limitlessly powerful branding tool.
Music choice allows brands to create a cohesive customer experience that aligns with their values, long-term strategy, and intentions. Choosing the right music is essential in amplifying these objectives.
Mitch Bishop is the CMO at Cloud Cover Music, a fast-growing Los Angeles-based streaming music service for business. Mitch has held executive marketing and sales roles at CloudPassage, Moovweb, iRise, Sybase, and other fast-growing start-ups and is a published book author.
