9: Putting Your Brand on the Right Track
View the warning on the contents page regarding "facts" presented by this author.
The author begins with an interesting example of how sound conveys brand. Consider the startup sound of a computer, which was implemented for usability reasons - the user would assume something was "wrong" because the computer doesn't turn on instantly, so the machine made a beep or flashed an LED light to indicate it had started and that the user should patiently wait a few seconds. Now consider the distinctive sound of an Apple computer - people that use an Apple computer hear that sound every time they start their machine, and have come to associate it to a particular brand of computer, such that when they hear the sound, a single chord, they immediately think of the brand. It is, in effect, an audio logo, and a highly effective one in that it is immediately recognized.
The author accepts the research that indicates that music is a significant contributor to emotional state. Motion pictures leverage this tendency, and use a soundtrack of "incidental music" to accompany scenes that are exciting and emotionally intense.
And it works: the author cites a specific study (North and Hargreaves) that found individuals are 96% more likely to recall a brand when a commercial features "appropriate music" as opposed to the same spot without any musical accompaniment. The classical example of operant conditioning, Pavlov's dogs, utilized an audio stimulus to cause subjects to respond to a memory of an entirely different sensation.
Sound is believed to be even more effective than visual stimulus because it is more direct and less filtered. We have better and more immediate recall of sounds - and we think about their meaning less, meaning we more readily accept their intended meaning.
An aside: music in retail can have that effect, but it is often done carelessly. Consider how annoying music can become, in the reaction of people to "muzak", or how distracting it can be, in situations where a restaurant or store merely pipes in the local radio station. It's recognized that people like background music, and feel more comfortable when it is playing as opposed to sitting or shopping in dead silence, but too little attention is given to the exact music that is played.
It's also noted that technology has progressed significantly: there are an abundance of suppliers of music and sound effects and software to compose and play music is cheap and easy to use. (EN: Turn back a few pages to the problems the author mentioned with the horrors of desktop publishing in the hands of amateurs - advocating the same practice when it comes to audio seems inconsistent, and inadvisable.)
Audio can't be incorporated into every business, or every channel, but in channels where it can be applied, it should be considered carefully and used in ways that are advantageous rather than random.
While the author does not offer a systematic approach to using audio, or a careful consideration into the instances in which it can be leveraged, the remainder of the chapter does consider a few specific instances and provides some general advice.
Audio logos and jingles
Audio logos and commercial jingles are among the few instances in which marketers place careful consideration into the sound of their brand. It's well recognized that a catchy little tune, just a few seconds long, can lodge itself in a listener's mind and cause them to recall the brand to which the jingle is associated.
Generally, a jingle or audio logo needs to be flexible: you will need a short snippet of sound, a longer version, and it will need to be recognizable when the music is heard without the lyrics and when the lyrics are spoken without musical accompaniment. It will also need to be largely unique, so that it does not get confused with other jingles or popular songs that will interfere with recognition and muddle the association or meaning.
A few warnings about latching onto a popular performer: first, popularity fades, and your brand will seem as shopworn and campy as the performer once their star has faded; and second, celebrities have a tendency of getting into trouble - and dragging down brands with them.
(EN: The author doesn't mention consistency, but this is also important. An audio logo can last years if it is used consistently, even when the style of music seems a bit campy, the association remains years later. Constantly changing the jingle to match the flavor of the day results in lower recall, just like constantly changing and updating the logo.)
The same research showed that people are more likely to purchase a product when they "like" the jingle, but brand recall was improved even when customers didn't like the music at all and even found it obnoxious. (EN: I'm skeptical about the first, as people will say they are more likely to purchase a brand in a lab environment, and that's just confabulation, but the latter notion of brand recall is more objective.)
The natural channels for a commercial jingle are television and radio advertising. The author presents a number of other ways in which the jingle can be used: include it in the press kit, use it at the start or end of business presentations, include it in any multimedia presentation or give-away CD item.
The author returns to the notion that a small business or nonprofit organization can get a student or a local garage band to provide them with music on the cheap, and tells an anecdote about a win-win situation where a local boat shop hired a garage band to do their jingle, and the band got calls from other businesses and bookings at corporate events out of the deal. (EN: As with amateur designers, the results are mixed - you may luck upon someone with skill and talent, who can compose apiece that is appropriate and in-line with your brand, and adaptable to the various ways in which you may use audio, or you may not.)
Good telephone etiquette
The author grouses a bit more about voice response systems, which are in many ways very annoying, but he provides some tips to lessen the offensiveness of the sounds that are inflicted on a customer who calls in.
There are two areas to consider: first, the audio that is played to a caller when an employee cannot answer the phone, and second, the audio that a caller must listen to while they are on hold.
Dead silence is likely the worst alternative - the customer may assume that the connection has been dropped. "Statistics" show that up to 60% of callers will hang up and redial if there is 30 seconds of silence when on hold, and that a third of them will not call back.
(EN: I looked into this, and the numbers are misrepresented: An AT&T study indicates 60% hang up and 30% don't call back, when placed on hold under any circumstances. Another study by North American Telecom indicates 99% hang up within 40 seconds of silence, playing music keeps them only 30 seconds longer, providing information will keep them up to three minutes.)
Using a feed from a radio station is regarded as "marginally better" - the problem being that you do not control what the customer hears, the music may be annoying or offensive, and they may even be hearing advertisements for a competitor's service.
A better approach is to use your own music service, to ensure that the music is inoffensive and in line with the image of your brand and appropriate to the demographics of your customers. It should not be a matter of personal taste - the tastes of the customer may not be in line with your own.
The author also refers to on-hold advertising, and indicates that about 20% of people will make a purchase of a product if they heard information about it on hold (EN: This is another misrepresentation - the statistics I found from US West indicate a 15% increase in inquiries, not purchases), though "some psychologists" suggest it can confuse the customers and distract them from what they intended to discuss (EN: Didn't find corroboration for that bit, but likely because any search for on-hold advertising is choked with results from companies that sell it and don't care to disclose the downside.)
Giving customers audio guidance
The author also considers the notion of "earcons" - very brief sounds that give audio feedback to the customer who is interacting with an automated telephone system or Web site that help to direct a user through the system.
He suggests that this same technique works well on Web site menus, playing sounds on hover as well as click to provide audio cues to site users. He suggests that this is a boon to the blind and partially-sighted computer user.
Finally, "why not" consider using earcons as part of business presentations, playing a tone when bullet points appear on your slides.
(EN: all of this is exceptionally bad advice. On the Web specifically, any sound is annoying and distracting because computers use sound to indicate that something is wrong, not right. I have not heard them used on voice messaging systems extensively, suggesting that they have not been widely found to be effective. And the bit on using sound effects in presentations is very campy and annoying if you've ever seen it done. Seems to me all this adds up to a bad impression, not a good one. Insofar as their being helpful, the research I have seen on their use in computer interfaces indicates they slow down first-time users and there is "no statistically significant" evidence they make it easier for users who have performed the same task multiple times.)
Spatial enhancement
Aside of advertising, the most common use of music in branding is an enhancement of physical spaces: reception and waiting areas, stores, and restaurants. This is used to put people at ease, as sitting in a silent place is uncomfortable, and the incidental noise in an environment is irregular, unpredictable, and often unpleasant.
Using music in these environments is similar to the use of on-hold music: it must be controlled and brand-appropriate rather than random (a radio station or generic music service) or done according to the taste of the owner, manger, or employees.
Another concern for music in such settings is that the use of the same songs, day in and day out, becomes particularly annoying to employees (who will be discussed in more depth later in this chapter) and even to regular customers, especially in leisure environments where customers will linger for extended periods of time, or even stores where they will shop often.
The author goes back to random-tip mode:
- Consider the demographics of customers in selecting the type of music to play: a store serving girls should play a different kind of music that is played for a store selling men's business attire.
- Consider the mood or tone of your business: the music in a medical clinic's waiting area should be different than that of a fast food restaurant.
- Consider the time of day. In some instances, different groups of people visit a business at different times. In general, people have different preferences in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
- Consider the tasks to be performed. In locations where people need to concentrate and focus, music should be very low and uncomplicated; in locations where they will be conversing, it can be moderate but below the level of speech and should be instrumental; etc.
- Consider the quality and clarity of the system: ensure your speaker system is clear and audible in all locations and is not distorted, too loud, or too faint in others.
- Consider including in-store advertising in soundtracks. The author suggests "some studies" indicate that 40% of shoppers who recall hearing in-store audio ads purchased additional items. (EN: More suspicious research, doubly so given that, just a few years before the book was written, the Nielsen PRISM service that did exactly this was abandoned by enough retailers that the service was no longer economically viable, evidence enough that it did not have a significant impact on purchasing behavior.)
The author quotes a "study" by Ronald Milliman that showed that shoppers were engaged to stay longer and spend more products in supermarkets where music was played. (EN: This is probably the worst example yet of misrepresentation: Millman's article, appearing in the Summer 1982 edition of Journal of Marketing was a review of literature on the subject, and not a scientific study. A direct quote from that article is "Despite the widespread use of music in the marketplace, research documenting the effects of music is limited and the results of existing research are inconclusive regarding its effects on consumer behavior." This is egregious and calls to question whether any of the authors claims that his ideas are backed by "research" are at all credible.)
Music while you work
Another consideration is the effect of sound on employees, who spend a great deal of time in the spaces where customers come and go.
The example is given of a reception area where there is a kiosk display that plays the company jingle every fifteen minutes. A customer in the waiting area for ten minutes waiting on their appointment might hear it once. The receptionist who sits there will likely hear it 120 times during an eight-hour shift: 600 times a week, 30,000 times a year. It will drive her crazy, and she will flinch every time she hears it.
The same is true of music in workplaces. In a survey of retail workers in 2005, over 75% indicated that they were irritated by in-store music. 31% indicated they recalled hearing the same album 6 to 20 times per week, and 16% indicated it was more than 20 times per week. (EN: I suspect it may be even more than that, depending on the length of the loop.)
The author refers to the same study of store clerks to come put with a list of the ten "most overplayed records" in retail environments. The names will lose meaning over time, but it's striking that they likely coincide with the ten most popular artists in "soft pop" of the very same year. Also, 40% of the same clerks reported receiving complaints from customers about the "maddening music" played in stores. Meanwhile, 42% of store mangers believe that pop music in their stores actually encourages customers to buy more.
In western culture, Christmas is "the most testing time" for retail workers and customers alike, where seasonal music that is intended to be cheerful and put people in a positive frame of mind have been played over and over until they are thoroughly annoying.
There is some question as to whether music is at all useful in the workplace, and it's entirely subjective whether it is at all pleasant, but "studies" suggest that employee efficiency is reduced "almost two thirds when compared with a noise-free environment."
The author reckons that continual noise increases stress and job dissatisfaction among employees, and where these stressed and beset employees deliver the customer experience, it has by proxy a negative effect on the brand.
On the other hand, there is some evidence that music can ameliorate the effects of a noisy workplace by providing a "cover" noise that is regular rather than sporadic. The author refers to a 1996 magzine article that reported workplace productivity improved by 10% where background music was played. (EN: I fact-checked, and couldn't find it - but saw another sources quote the same statistic).
Music for your Web site
The author suggests that your Web site "is an obvious place where music can be a significant enhancement." You can play your jingle on a splash screen, or use a soundtrack that plays while users visit your site.
He suggests giving them the ability to turn the sound of if they are not "in the mood" to hear it, or in a location such as their office where it would be disturbing to others.
(EN: This is really rotten advice. Splash screens and background music each were attempted as a gimmick, but visitors almost universally detest unexpected sound in the online channel, no matter how subtle or well done. The only opportunity to use sound online, and use it well, is in a soundtrack to a multimedia piece, such as a video, that people can play if they so desire, and are warned in advance that there is sound. Even sites that are promoting an audio-related product do not feature sound that plays automatically - some offer a listening library, or have an option to play while you surf. If you're going to goof around, do usability testing before unleashing noise on your audience.)
Don't miss audio opportunities
The author relates a personal experience of a vacuum cleaner advertisement that featured a piece of music that so resounded with customers that the company was "flooded with inquiries" from customers who wanted to know the name of the song.
They leveraged this interest by making the song available as an MP3 download from their company's Web site. (EN: No results are reported, but it stands to reason that if people were willing to call, they likely would increase traffic to the site, and some portion would stick around to read more promotional information, remember the brand, and buy their products.)
Yet at a booth the company operated at events, the song was not being played as ambient music, and there were no CDs being handed out to customers. It seems to the author this was a missed opportunity to leverage interest.
On the other hand, British Airways has used a single piece of music in television commercials for over 20 years. There were customer protests when they stopped using it. The company also began including this music as ambient sound in its reception areas and aircraft cabins before take-off, and including it on a promotional CD.
The author also mentions Starbucks, who created their own mix tapes for use as background music in their coffee shops, and got enough requests from customers that they began selling their own branded CDs in the stores. (EN: I recall a mention of this in a course I took on branding - there was some album where Starbucks alone accounted for a third of sales, and the chain experimented with opening some shops under the "Hear Music" brand. Just checked now, and while the original four-store chain is still running, it's not been expanded. However, the company has launched a record company of the same name that features new albums by fading stars such as James Taylor and Carly Simon.)