Sonic branding and the aesthetic infrastructure of everyday consumption

Khamis, Susie; Keogh, Brent

doi:10.1017/s0261143021000118

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…sonic logos, sounds of brand names) can effectively communicate brand identity by implying extra-acoustic information (e.g. competence) about the brand (Khamis and Keogh, 2021; Gustafsson, 2015). In a similar vein, previous research on human voices has demonstrated that a speaker's voice conveys extra-acoustical associations with the speaker (e.g.…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

When background music in audiovisual advertisements can boost the perceived competence of the advertised brands – an empirical study from South Korea

Hong

Choi²,

Lee³

2022

APJML

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PurposeThe authors aim to explore whether and how variations on pitch levels of background music in audiovisual commercials affect consumers' judgments of the competence of the advertised brands and for which group of consumers such changes in ad backgrounds are more influential.Design/methodology/approachConsumers are presented with an audiovisual advertisement in which the pitch of background music is lowered or raised. They are subsequently asked to evaluate the music and traits of the advertised brand and indicate their predisposed styles of thinking.FindingsConsumers tend to judge a brand in an audiovisual commercial as possessing a higher level of competence traits when the brand is accompanied by lower-pitched (vs higher-pitched) background music, which is mediated by levels of powerfulness they perceive from the background music. Consumers with holistic (vs analytic) thinking styles, who are known to devote more focused attention to background information, tend to be more (vs less) susceptible to the changes in pitch.Research limitations/implicationsThe current research approaches thinking styles as predisposed individual differences as in prior works in marketing. Provided that the predisposed thinking styles can be influenced by individuals' cultural backgrounds, the authors suggest cross-cultural studies as an approach to further validate the present findings.Practical implicationsGiven the recent trends that consumers are increasingly exposed to audiovisual ads with the rapid growth of various video-based platforms (e.g. YouTube) and mobile advertising, this empirical study may assist contemporary marketers in considering an acoustic strategy for brand communication using the audiovisual advertisement. This study suggests that the pitch of ad background music can serve as a manageable strategic tool that can assist in establishing an image of a competent brand.Originality/valueThis research highlights a seemingly-trivial element in audiovisual advertisements, the pitch of background music, as a crucial determinant of the perceived competence of an advertised brand upon which further brand evaluations (e.g. brand trust, purchase intention) are based. An important yet overlooked effect of ad recipients' predisposed thinking styles on how consumers respond to the changes of background cues in audiovisual commercials is also proposed.

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Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

When background music in audiovisual advertisements can boost the perceived competence of the advertised brands – an empirical study from South Korea

Hong

Choi²,

Lee³

2022

APJML

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Sonic Agency DLMDD, in a study that was conducted in cooperation with market research firm YouGov, found that 20% of young adults were more inclined to buy a product from a brand with a sonic identity as compared to those without, and one in three young adults feel more positive towards those brands that have a distinctive sonic identity (McCullough, 2023). Mastercard and GfK Global reported that within 12 months of the launch of their sonic brand identity, 77% of their consumers believed that the new sonic identity made the brand more trustworthy (BrandMusiq, 2022; Cozine, 2020; Khamis & Keogh, 2021), whereas Tostidos reported a 38% increase in brand recall, a 13% increase in brand score, and a 70% increase in overall appeal after the launch of their sonic logo, based on market research conducted by audio testing company Veritonic (Made Music Studio, 2022; see also Cakim, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sonic branding: A narrative review at the intersection of art and science

Spence,

Keller

2024

Psychology and Marketing

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The field of sonic branding/marketing has grown rapidly in recent years, as has commercial interest in more science‐based approaches to the practice, particularly as more brands and agencies look for qualitative and quantitative evidence to support the efficacy of sonic branding. In this research note, we explore the ways in which the design and execution (i.e., the “art”) of sonic branding initiatives can be informed by overlapping approaches and techniques drawn from the sciences, namely psychoacoustics, semiotics, music/auditory cognition, and crossmodal research. We explore whether the rapid growth of generative AI may represent the next major evolution in the design, creation, and assessment of sonic assets, where science and art are used to train AI tools that could one day augment (and potentially disrupt) the work of human sound designers and composers. These developments notwithstanding, it is argued that sonic branding will likely remain as much an art as a science, though basing one's approach on the emerging scientific literature ought to at least tilt the odds of success in the creative's favor.

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