Music Branding In Your Marketing, There’s More Than Meets the Ear!

Imagine a world without music and sound, a place where rhythm, melody and harmony cease to exist. No dancing. No singing. What would our lives be like if its only soundtrack were silence? Music branding among popular brands is a rising star in the marketing arena, but make no mistake, it’s not just for big brands, it’s for all brands – including yours!

Music branding is embraced today by global brands such as Nike, Starbucks, Levi’s and Coca-Cola.  What marketers need to know today is not what music to run in the background to an ad, but how a brand “sounds”.  Some essential reading for any brand manager looking for a competitive edge in an increasingly cluttered media landscape is Sounds Like Branding, by Author Jakob Lusensky.  He’s done a great service to all marketers by writing and showing how to discover – a very short stairway to heaven.

Every company should have a music strategy. Some do; but most don’t. Everyone loves music, but not everyone loves advertising. Faced with increasingly impatient and fickle customers, some of the  world’s most famous brands have been turning to music and artists to engage the public in a way they could never do alone. Why? Because music speaks to emotions, brings people together and starts conversations. If it’s used correctly, it can turn a one-off purchase into a loyal fan. 

The chaotic marketplace that today’s brands and marketers are facing is alarming, fast and dynamic. All of your senses are literally bombarded with messages. This has led to a situation where people seem to have to learn how to deliberately screen out advertising messages, basically not paying attention to the bright colors anymore. Consumers’ relationships with music is quite different. Music has been ranked as the media that most people would least like to live without (before TV and Internet). The last few years have seen music initiatives from global brands working as ambassadors of music, in order to attract attention and build a more emotional connection to their customers.

A recent survey amongst business owners showed that 7 out of 10 brands spend 5% or less of their marketing budget on music, 6 out of 10 have no idea how their brand sounds. And here’s where it gets really interesting – 8 out of 10 have no sound branding at all. Think about this.  With logos and graphics people know what your brand looks like, but do they know what your brand sounds like?

With on hold music and message branding, you’re inviting listeners to an ear-opening journey, and you’re able to engage individuals in a deeper, multidimensional way. Emotion, Experience, Engagement and Exclusivity are inherent within music branding, which is why it’s so powerful. Music branding is communication through emotions, and hits all the right notes with customers. We have come to see that brands love music and view it as a very important branding tool that will become even more important for them in the future.