Lecture 6: sounds and jingles

Question 1

what is sonic branding?

Answer 1

Sonic branding is the strategic use of music or sounds to promote the distinctiveness of a brand, and/or increase brand loyalty

Question 2

why is music a vague signifier?

Answer 2

music is difficult to interpret or consider it without considering the context in which it is inserted

Question 3

how can brands approach music?

Answer 3

• sound identity and brand fit
  choices of sounds (with or without lyrics) for a brand can become as strong as a visual logo (Carglass)
• Sound as behavioural control
  Use music to push a certain mood on the consumer and connect it with a brand. It’s not the same as a jingle that is used to snap people’s attention. This is more to convey a message by pushing a certain mood on the consumer.
• Sounds as a mnemonic element
  Music stimulates our active episodic memory – music can reactivate certain memories.
  This is particularly true when connected to lyrics.

Question 4

What kinds of listening are there?

Answer 4

• attentive (intentional, focused, active)
• inattentive (distracted, unfocused)

Question 5

Which objectives does music have in advertisements?

Answer 5

• sometimes they want to stay unnoticed and provide to our overall perception of the environment i.e. elevator music (inattentive listening)
• sometimes it is to emerge from inattentive listening and get us to pay attention.

Question 6

What is the function of jingles/sonic logos?

Answer 6

For consumers to emerge from inattentive listening and get us to pay attention

Question 7

How is conceptual fluency tied to music?

Answer 7

if a stimulus is assigned to a fitting context, it takes on a predictive value and leads to more conceptual fluency

Question 8

how can music help brand identity?

Answer 8

the degree of fit between a brand and the various components of music can be fundamental for a relationship between use of music and brand identity

• The better the music fits your brand image (like cool jeans for a sporty brand), the stronger the connection between the music and what people remember about your brand.
• If the music doesn’t match (like a tuxedo for a skateboard company), it creates a confusing impression.

Question 9

Which components of music can help a brand identity?

Answer 9

1. genre
   is about the fit between connotations of the genre and the brand i.e. classical music in wine cellar
2. lyrics
   serve the function of activation (inattentive listening to attentive) which happens by semantic relevance.
3. voice
   voice can be fitting in a) tone e.g. sports drink ad with vibrant voice and b) voice of celebrities to transport some reputation from the celebrities to brand and vice versa

Question 10

can single exposure to music influence the product choices of consumers?

Answer 10

music can have an influence on the product choice of consumers, but it is a very weak
it only has an effect in special circumstances; it does not work for more expensive goods.