Brand that Tune: Music in the Marketing Mix

These days, recognizing a song by what commercial it was in is as common as knowing it by title, and that's how marketers want it. According to research by branding guru Martin Lindstrom and market research firm Millward Brown, based in Naperville, Ill., sound has a 41 percent influence on how people perceive brands. "[Companies] have misconceptions that music can't achieve a business objective," says Paul Anthony, CEO of Rumblefish, a music branding agency and online licensing store in Portland, Ore. "If [audio is] forty-one percent of the sensory experience but treated as an afterthought, you're missing out on an opportunity to brand."

There are many customer touchpoints through which "sonic branding" can occur, such as advertising, Web sites, podcasts, trade shows or even in a product. Carmichael Training Systems (CTS), a coaching firm for endurance athletes, worked with Rumblefish to find music for new lines of training products. The music had to boost athletic performance as well as bolster the company's image. "If these are songs that make people think of us, that's what we want," says Kevin Dessart, CTS' director of marketing, based in Colorado Springs, Colo. "Our number-one goal was [using] quality music. Number two: Would it be a good association for CTS?"

CTS' marketing staff surveyed the firm's coaches multiple times for feedback on final songs, which are from independent artists. The first product to incorporate them was a series of audio workouts that followed stages of the Tour de France. CTS received positive feedback almost immediately and is compiling a CD of the songs it used. The company also has more downloads, workouts and training DVDs planned that will incorporate songs from its music library. "[The music] got CTS into people's earbuds," Anthony says. And once marketing tunes make it to personal playlists, "it shows [customers] are developing an emotional connection with the music."

Take-Aways

Melding music into your brand isn't as simple as choosing a cool tune. Here are tips for sonic branding from Rumblefish CEO Paul Anthony:

››DETERMINE BUSINESS GOALS
What do you want from the music—do you want to elicit certain emotions from the customers, draw them in with music offerings or have them shop longer in retail stores? Start with objectives to align the music with the desired behavior.

››BUILD A MUSIC IDENTITY
Add music to the identifiers that make up your target market's profile. Customers' music interests provide insight into their personalities, and their favorite songs can be as telling as their demographic attributes.

››AVOID PERSONAL PREFERENCES
More likely than not, you aren't in your target market. Don't automatically turn to your personal music library when choosing songs for your marketing mix.

—Julia Chang