Did you know that it only takes 0.146 seconds for a human to hear and interpret a sound?!? (Business News Daily) When we think of advertising, the first thing that comes to mind is visual, but the sounds in an ad can make or break it. Certain sounds can connect with your audience on an emotional level. Something further, sonic branding is a sound that is associated with your brand. Think of the Netflix sound when it launches. All of you reading this can hear it in your mind right now huh? We can too. Another way to use sound is in a retail environment and is probably the most common. Let’s dive into each a little deeper.
In Store Audio
1. What type of emotion do you want to inspire? Calm, excited, secure? This will create the emotional state of your customers while they’re shopping in your store.
2. Do you want them to stay a while or get in and get out? Most stores want people to stay unless they’re fast food or high turnover shops. If you want consumers to stay slower music is best. They stay longer. They spend more money. If in and out is what you want then fast paced music with upbeat tempo.
3. Are you selecting music that your target audience would listen to? You want to ensure that your audience likes what they are hearing. Dive a little into your target audience. What is their demographic? When were they born? This will give you an idea of what kind of music to play.
Sonic Branding
1. Keep the sound simple. Just a few tones that last a few seconds. It should be a musical mnemonic pattern that is easy to remember and listen too.
2. Make your audience feel something. Create a sound that conveys the right emotional response. Think of sounds that you often hear such as the sound when you upload something on LinkedIn. It’s oddly satisfying. There’s a reason for this.
3. Don’t plagiarize. Stand out and be unique with your tonal voice. Not only is this copyright infringement, it’s lazy.
Sounds in Advertisements
1. Again, know the brand audience. What is the product for? Is it fitness or a massage? This will greatly effect the sounds you want to use in your ads.
2. Consider the platform. Looping sounds do better on social media since it tends to disrupt the user less. This will also determine which music can go on your ads. You need to have proper clearance for copyright purposes.
3. Create with mobile in mind. Most people will watch digital ads on their phones. So, unless your ad is running on Hulu as a commercial, you want to pick tracks that don’t have a lot of heavy bass.
4. Sound effects might be needed. Sometimes an added sound effect might be needed to emphasize a key point in your ad. Don’t forget to use these to bring attention to the points of visual interest.
5. Get the mix right. Most ads have voice over. It’s important that the music and/or sound effects don’t overpower this. Obviously, this will be done by an editing professional but should always be checked before going live.
Sound can be a very powerful tool in advertising that is quite often overlooked. It can be used to enhance certain aspects of your ads or as a tactic to keep customers in your store longer. Our favorite though, is sonic branding and how it can be just as memorable as a visual logo if not more. Sounds tend to get stuck in our heads because it takes less attention to recognize them while visuals require us to focus our vision from whatever we may already be doing to something else. Also, if you get it right people will remember your sonic branding for years to come!
