The impact of the sonic logo’s acoustic features on orienting responses, emotions and brand personality transmission (original) (raw)

Music to the ears: the role of sonic branding in advertising

International Journal of Advertising, 2023

Marketers are taking note by using music and sound to reinforce a brand's identity. Sonic branding involves designing an auditory equivalent of a graphic representation of a brand that embodies the brand's essence, attributes and values. This research examines how the use of sonic logos in advertising can aid in inducing positive emotions in consumers in affect-rich decision contexts. Findings demonstrate that sonic logos have the ability to evoke positive emotions, stimulate engagement and enrich the brand experience, especially for those individuals high in emotion-based decision-making. Implications for how sonic branding can aid in enhancing marketing communications are discussed.

Effects of Sound Stimuli Applied in Branding Effects of Sound Stimuli Applied in Branding: An Empirical Study of Its Antecedents and Consequences

Intel and Nokia's success in sound branding encouraged followers to implement this branding strategy. This study aims to explore the effects of sound stimuli applied in branding. A questionnaire survey was conducted to measure consumers' perception towards sound stimuli, and its influence towards brand preference. Consumers' perception towards sound stimuli is further examined to identify its influences on attitude towards the brand, brand awareness with brand association, and qualitative perception. Brand loyalty and preference are confirmed to have consequential influences from the antecedents: attitude towards the brand, brand awareness with brand association, and qualitative perception. Findings of this study suggest that sound trademarks should be carefully selected and designed to help consumers remember the brand and elicit positive awareness, association, attitude and perception. In contrast, slogan-alone sound trademarks, especially those with ambiguous meaning slogans, may lead to negative attitudes and preferences.

Sonic logos: can sound influence willingness to pay?

Journal of Product &amp Brand Management

Purpose – Auditory branding is the association of a non-verbal, auditory identity for a brand. Sonic logos, or “sogos,” are a key element of sonic branding. This paper seeks to examine the systematic influence of an objective property, the number of tones in a sogo, on consumers' willingness-to-pay for the associated brand. Design/methodology/approach – A laboratory experiment was conducted to test hypotheses. Findings – Findings suggest that the number of tones in a sogo systematically influences willingness-to-pay in a non-linear manner. Sogos with very few (three) tones or numerous (nine) tones are perceived to be less valuable than sogos with a moderate number (six) tones. This influence is mediated by the fluency with which the sogos are processed. Research limitations/implications – Although this study examines only one objective property of a sogo, it lays the theoretical foundation for a new research stream by connecting the processing fluency literature and logo literat...

Sounds like Branding: Cognitive Principles and Crossmodal Considerations for the Design of Successful Sonic Logos

Expert Journal of Marketing, 2023

The field of sonic branding has grown rapidly in recent years. While the majority of the developments in this area have thus far been led by practitioners, it is important to understand the cognitive principles underlying the appropriateness and efficacy of sonic branding in order to help develop design principles and practical guidelines that will help to move the field forward, particularly where a brand's distinctive sonic assets are concerned. This narrative historical review focuses on design considerations for one of the most common sonic assets, namely the sonic logo. Crucially, the question of how these sonic logos come to be associated with brands, and the extent to which their perceptual and affective qualities ought to match the attributes and personality of the brand, are experimentally tractable research questions. Principles drawn from the cognitive (neuro-)sciences, including the emerging field of research on crossmodal correspondences, are explored, providing actionable insights for those wanting to design successful sonic brands. The use of the semantic differential technique is also discussed as a means of systematically assessing the connotative alignment between a product, company, or brand and the distinctive sonic assets which together comprise the brand's sonic identity as a whole.

The Effects of Sounds in Advertising Towardconsumers’ Emotional Response

2016

This study investigated the effect of sounds in advertising toward consumers’ emotional response. The purpose of this study is to get better understanding about the role of emotions which come from the hearing of sounds, in marketing. Therefore, this study analyzed the relationships between consumers’ emotional response, familiarity, interest, and attention. The variables were examined by developing some hypotheses predicting emotional reaction and empirically test the hypotheses using data from 156 participants in computer laboratory. During the research, participants were asked to listen to 20 different sounds and answer questions regarding their emotional response towards each one. The results of this study show that emotional response to sounds is predicted by the level of interest generated and how well the sound captured the participant’s attention.

Non-musical sound branding – a conceptualization and research overview

European Journal of Marketing, 2018

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of sound branding by developing a new conceptual framework and providing an overview of the research literature on non-musical sound. Design/methodology/approach – Using four mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive types of non-musical sound, the paper assesses and synthesizes 99 significant studies across various scholarly fields. Findings – The overview reveals two areas in which more research may be warranted, that is, non-musical atmospherics and non-musical sonic logos. Moreover, future sound-branding research should examine in further detail the potentials of developed versus annexed object sounds, and mediated versus unmediated brand sounds. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides important insights into critical issues that suggest directions for further research on non-musical sound branding. Practical implications – The paper identifies an unexploited terrain of possibilities for the use of sound in marketing and branding. Originality/value – The paper identifies a subfield within sound-branding research that has received little attention despite its inevitability and potential significance.

Sonic Influence on Initially Neutral Brands: Using EEG to Unveil the Secrets of Audio Evaluative Conditioning

Brain Sciences

The present study addresses the question of whether explicit, survey-type measures of attitude differ in sensitivity when compared to implicit, non-conscious measures of attitude in the context of attitude changes in response to evaluative conditioning (EC). In the frame of a pre-test, participants rated 300 brand names on a Likert-type scale, the results of which were then used to create personalised lists of neutral brands. After this initial online component, the participants were exposed to one, five, and ten rounds of EC (during three separate sessions), during which half of the brands were paired with pleasant audio excerpts (positive EC) and the remainder were paired with unpleasant audio excerpts (negative EC). Following each conditioning round, the participants rated the brand names again, whilst changes in the brain’s electrical activity in response to the brands were recorded via electroencephalography (EEG). After having rated the brand names, the participants also compl...

Sonic branding: A consumer-oriented literature review

Journal of Brand Management, 2015

Because music holds a strong power over people, and its impact on consumers is relatively direct, it is invariably an interesting medium for marketers. Although Sonic Branding – branding with music and sound – has been seen as ’the next big thing’ in branding toward consumers for about a decade, it is a scattered field still waiting for its breakthrough. Addressing this problem, the present consumer-oriented review of literature offers new insights on the consumer perspective’s role in Sonic Branding today, and provides implications for future marketing research and practice. The present paper also suggests that there is need for using a common set of Sonic Branding concepts in order to unify the field. Further, the majority of businesses do not yet understand Sonic Branding as the uniquely consumer oriented practice it has the potential to be. Understanding the way that consumers themselves use music is crucial to successful brand management in this area. However, for theorists and practitioners alike, the immediate challenge lies in developing those concepts and labels for Sonic Branding that will unite the field, and thereby increase its future impact.

What is the attitudinal and affective impact of music on different market segments in a retail context?

Music is a universally understood language comprehended on an instinctive and primal level. Digested both consciously and subconsciously, music is processed emotionally rather than rationally, in ways that can shape self-identity (Hesmondhalgh, 2008). Therefore, music is a powerful and often underestimated tool of persuasion in marketing. Successful use of sonic branding can enhance brand attitudes and identification unlike any other marketing tactic. This study is an investigation of the attitudinal and affective impact music has on consumers in a retail context. As a budding musician and marketer, I am interested in the influence music has on consumers. Affectively, I wish to understand how a shop's music choice affects consumers' moods, arousal and nostalgia for a brand. Attitudinally, I wish to evaluate consumers' consequent perception of a brand, their social identification with it and their resulting brand loyalty. I will compare data regarding two retail stores targeting different market segments. This paper firstly describes the collection of data and methodology, and then moves onto analysis. I will discuss affective implications of atmospherics, including the impact of tempo, volume and genre changes on consumer moods and behaviours. Attitudinally I will investigate the psychological consequences of sonic branding on consumers' brand perceptions. Finally I will describe my academic contribution to the field. Music a compelling communicator, understood innately, with an undeniable power of the mind. As retail becomes an evermore-competitive outlet and technological developments are changing the way people shop, it is vital for brands to stand out. This study recognises the ability of atmospherics to affectively impact consumers; music connects emotionally to individuals, which can change their moods and arousal regarding brands. Attitudinally, this study investigates the psychological power of sonic branding, leading to consumers' identification and loyalty towards a brand. The study also compares the impact of specific music choices on different market segments, and their consequent effects.