Sensory Branding: What Does Your Brand Sound Like?

Have you ever noticed that when a baby laughs, whether it’s in a café, an airport terminal or on line at the grocery store, women all around look up from whatever they’re doing? It’s as though they’re programmed to tune in to this sound. For a while, a video of a baby giggling was even one of the most popular videos on YouTube.

There’s no question that sound is incredibly powerful from a psychological perspective, which makes it surprising that 83 percent of all advertising focuses primarily on our sense of sight. Think of how much we rely on sound in our daily lives — for confirmation of our digital connections and to alert us to everything from a phone call to a ready piece of toast. Studies on how sound affects people’s behavior have revealed fascinating results — for example, silent slot machines in Las Vegas brought in 24 percent less revenue than those that made typical tinkling and whirring noises. And when restaurants played music with a beat slower than the average heartbeat, patrons ate more slowly and consumed more food.

Anyone who grew up in the 1970s can probably sing a wide range of advertising jingles, but the same can’t be said for millennials. So does sound actually influence our buying decisions? And have advertisers forgotten that consumers listen as well as watch? We did some research to learn more about the effects of sound in conjunction with branding.

For one of our Buyology studies, we worked with a team of neuroscientists to record the physical reactions of 50 volunteers to a variety of sounds, both branded and nonbranded. We were surprised to learn how many brands were among the top 10 most powerful sounds of the past two decades. Some brands evoked stronger reactions than even the most comforting sounds of nature. In fact, the sounds of birds singing and waves crashing on the shore didn’t even make the top 10, yet Intel’s iconic chimes came in second. (First was the baby’s giggle.)

This tells us that repetition is key to making a sound important. After all, can you even sing the Intel theme? But if you hear it, I bet you’ll recognize it! And just behind the sound we associate with computer chips, which are, after all silent, was another “silent” sound we hear all the time — that of a vibrating phone. In fact, this sound is so powerful that when our test subjects heard it, they took off their headsets and reached for their phones! These devices have become so deeply ingrained into our daily lives that studies now show that the first thing most people do when they wake is to check their phones — even before they go to the bathroom!

Of nonbranded sounds , the third most powerful was the sound of an ATM dispensing cash, fourth was “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and fifth was the sizzle of a steak hitting the grill. What’s the subtext of all this? Are we at heart money-hungry, patriotic carnivores?

Another interesting finding of the study was the type of physical reactions that people had to certain sounds, particularly those associated with food and drink, like the whoosh and fizz of a can of soda being opened. The sizzling steak sound made people feel hungry, and the fizzing soda sound induced thirst. Surely restaurants and food and beverage manufacturers would want to use such sounds to achieve a mix of sensory and contextual branding.

Sadly, the sound of a cigarette being lit and inhaled also made the top 10, and the researchers found that this sound activated a part of the brain that is highly involved in drug dependency. Like the discovery of mirror neurons, which make people feel like they are doing same actions that they see others do, the implications of this somatic marker could be lethal if cigarette companies decide to try to cash in on it.

The power of sound is unmistakable. How will your company take advantage of this potent sensory branding tool?

About the author:

Martin Lindstrom, a global expert and pioneer in the fields of consumer psychology, marketing, and neuroscientific research, has worked with such brands as McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Nestlé, American Express, Microsoft Corporation, The Walt Disney Company, and GlaxoSmithKline.

Named one of TIME Magazine’s “World's 100 Most Influential People”, he authored the NY Times and international bestseller "Buyology—Truth and Lies About Why We Buy” and "Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy".

Get to know Martin better on Twitter, Facebook or at MartinLindstrom.com