The Power of Sound

Sound has the extraordinary power of eliciting a profound, meaningful reaction, often more powerful than sight. Take these three examples:

1. Opening a can of Coca-Cola
2. Taking a picture with your phone
3. Any Alfred Hitchcock film

Coca-Cola’s can doesn’t just open; it has a small crack, immediately followed by a high hiss that crescendos into another, larger crack. And if you think that this sound “just happens,” you would be wrong. The can is specifically designed to create this moment.

An even better example is the click you hear when taking a picture with your phone. There is, by all accounts, no need for any sound to happen. But people didn’t like a soundless camera. So brilliant software engineers added additional programming to trigger a sound effect every time you hit the white dot on your screen.

And then there is Hitchcock — the master of suspense. Watching any of his films by today’s standards would be tame if it weren’t for the layer of sound he added. We cringe when we hear those high-pitched, rapidly moving notes — knowing what is about to happen but unable to stop our physical reaction.

A marketer working with a sound engineer isn’t new — but as we move into a world where visual content is the dominant medium, I felt it was time for a reminder — and to remember that sound happens in far more places than just an online video.

Ps. I do see the irony in writing about sound.