What You Need To Know About Music And Consumer Behaviour
Written by: Sarah Moffat
Have you ever gone from watching your favourite sitcom to crying over a car commercial in 0.5 seconds? You find yourself sitting there thinking “how did this happen?” One second you’re laughing at something Howard said to Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory. Now you're sitting there like a puddle of mush crying hysterically at a commercial.
Chances are it was the background music that elicited such a strong reaction. There is a powerful relationship between music and emotions — it's proven music has psychological effects on the brain.
That's why the use of music in TV and films is so important. But it’s not just limited to these forms of entertainment. Music in advertising is just as important.
MUSIC PULLS AT THE HEARTSTRINGS
We've all experienced this. You hear a song on the radio and it takes you back to a vivid memory. Whenever I hear Champagne Supernova I'm taken back to a Liam Gallagher concert. I can see it as clearly as I could in the moment. There, with Billy, him singing and smiling like never before. Why can I see this so picture-perfect when that song plays?
Studies show we use the same part of our brains to process emotion and memory as we do to process music. That correlation between music and memory is why music is so significant in advertising.
Visuals and music are both super powerful on their own. But when you put them together, it can take things to a whole new level. A song can elevate the visuals — and vice versa. And when a song is paired with the right visuals, it can have a massive emotional impact.
VISUAL ART AND MUSIC
When the music in an ad stands out, it’s likely your consumer will remember it and your product. I mean, you probably still associate Morricone’s The Ecstasy of Gold with Lamborghini commercials. I know I do.
A study analyzed over 150 ads to see if there was a link between decision making and long-term memory encoding (LTME) - aka, how your brain stores information indefinitely. The goal was to see if music in ads actually had an impact. Guess what. It checks out.
When it comes to music in advertisements, well, it actually determines whether you sink or swim. According to Neuro-Insight, “ads that are driven by their soundtrack are best at creating long term memories — particularly when song lyrics match the action. Ads that used music like this were 14% more efficient than those that use passive, background music.”
DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS
Our last blog touched upon taking color into consideration when choosing artwork since colors can evoke different emotions. As it turns out, you also need to take into account the psychological effects of music.
A study was done on 1,000 Australian consumers. The study had the participants listen to different types of sound clips. It was found that there were distinct differences in the emotions that each sound clip induced.
Certain key changes, chords, and melodies all caused different responses.
A shift from a major to a minor key evoked a sense of sadness in 83% of participants. While short and sharp notes in a major key made 87% feel happy.
The findings suggest that music can cause such strong emotional reactions that it can actually influence how a business is viewed.
Advertisers and marketers should have a clear audience in mind and what type of emotion they want to elicit when choosing music for ads.
PESKY LITTLE EARWORM
We've all had an earworm. I don't mean a creepy-crawly bug that's living inside your head. I'm talking about that song or jingle that you just can’t stop humming! You know the ones that stuck on repeat in your brain for hours, sometimes days.
These earworms have to do with the music structure itself. Which is why some songs are more prone to get stuck in your head than others. And it can happen even when music has no lyrics. Has that ever happened to you and you didn’t know the name of the song? That’s always fun to figure out since you can’t exactly Google “ba-ba-ba-da-da-da-da-da” to get results.
According to Dr. Kelly Jakubowski from Durham University’s Department of Music, earworms typically “have quite a fast tempo along with a common melodic shape and unusual intervals or repetitions”.
Catchy jingles stay stored in your memory bank, especially when heard over and over again. This is why music is crucial in most advertising.
There are definitely a lot of factors to consider when choosing music for advertisements. It not only needs to set the right tone for the ad, but it needs to enhance the visual storytelling. It also needs to appeal to the emotional side of your audience. But also be mindful of the power of persuasion. Because music is such a powerful tool, it can actually change the way your audience views your brand.
