Ever wonder what an advertising campaign would be like without music? Have you ever questioned why marketing campaigns may have music and why they may have made that particular selection? 

Well, music is actually a vital part of an advertising or marketing campaign. Let us explain! Music undoubtedly works to aid the feeling of emotion communicated in the messaging as well as strives to secure the sales from the consumers who view the advertisement. 

Together, let’s take a deeper look as to why music is an essential component to marketing and advertisements, especially when it comes to nail down the final sales. Whether it’s for storytelling or building a brand, the following are all reasons as to why marketers choose certain songs to pair well with their campaigns. 

The Sound Creates a Feeling 

Music undoubtedly evokes a feeling when listening to it. While some may boost your spirits, other songs may bring you to the brink of tears. These songs with strong feelings attached to them are then added into campaigns that need to pull onto the emotions of potential consumers. 

Take non-profit organizations for example. If there’s an upsetting story associated with the organization that’s being voiced in order to achieve donations, then there might be a sad song or instrumental playing in the background. This will only intensify the emotion. Animal rescues will oftentimes use this type of emotion to grasp a feeling of the consumer so that the end result may be to either donate or ultimately adopt those animals. 

Music Builds a Brand

Music actually has the potential to help build the brand. This is achieved through engagement and excitement around the campaign and product. 

Sometimes the song itself will carry the brand and build awareness for it. For example, Fiat cars have always been pretty popular. Although in a campaign with Pharrell Williams and the song “Happy”, it really put the car brand on the map. That song is not only upbeat and exudes positivity, but it also has a unique tone all on its own that listeners are able to resonate. So, the car brand was smart to add the song to the campaign as it really created awareness and built exposure for those that already listened to the song beforehand. 

It Creates a Story 

Believe it or not, the flow of the song actually has the capability to lead a story in a campaign. With the ups and downs of the beat, they can also follow the ups and downs of the overall advertisement. 

Ikea was able to do this well by showing snapshot clips of all different families living uniquely in their homes with Ikea branded furniture. The song that played helped to lead the beat of the different family lives shown, which could then lead the viewer to watch all of the commercial in order to be persuaded.  

Music Triggers Memories and Nostalgia

Music also has the potential to trigger different memories and bring in nostalgia. Is there an old song that you’d listen to that makes you think of the time you were in high school? What about that famed song you listened to with your first boyfriend or girlfriend? No matter the song, those memories will forever be glued to them. 

This method has the potential to work super well in a campaign. The song used can either provoke memories or nostalgia, or if it has the right catch then its consumers can potentially recall the ad when they hear the song. 

In an iconic advertisement produced by Sony, the song “Heartbeats” by José Gonzalez plays as thousands of colorful bouncy balls bounce across town. The song and balls keep the viewer mesmerized as the advertisement plays, only to end with a few lines of text and the announcement of a new product. The song itself provokes nostalgia, while the clips of the town bring back memories of your own.     

Tunes Spark Motivation

On the other hand, there will be other upbeat and powerful tunes that spark the utmost motivation. Songs create the power for people to want to take action, and that end result could really end up being the purchase.

A lot of times this choice of song can be found in sports campaigns or advertisements for a cause. In the brand  Always, they had an advertisement for #FightLikeaGirl which was a motivational empowerment ad that interviewed different individuals for their response on what fighting like a girl actually means. Although subtle, the music that played in the background during that time solidified the message that was trying to be conveyed. In this case it was the fight for feminism.  

Songs Can Solidify the Sale 

Think of a song in a campaign as your sale sidekick. It will always be able to enhance your message and desired outcome if chosen correctly. The song will also essentially align with the product attempting to be purchased by the customer.

For example, if there’s a kid’s toy involved as the main product, then the song chosen may have some sort of pop element to it. When we think of a child’s toy, we think about it as happy and upbeat, which is also the feeling the brand wants to give the child after she receives her toy. 

When a child or parent watches this commercial, they should get that same feeling when watching the message as it will then motivate the desire for purchase. 

Works Well When Married With the Brand 

When we talk about a song marrying a product in a commercial, it can also occur in the way that a song can also marry a brand. In fact, a brand or song can be well-known just from the partnership alone. 

A song’s overall tone can set the mood for the brand too. A theme song, for instance, has the potential to do just that. The brands only needs to ask themselves what mood they want to convey and how their current marketing may complement the potential song in mind.  

Final Thoughts 

So, should music really be used in different advertising and marketing campaigns? 

We find that music can be the bread and butter behind them both. It not only evokes emotion, but it can solidify the overall feeling of a campaign and the possibility for an increase in sales as the result. 

With that being said, music can be quite powerful. It also creates an opportunity for people to associate music with a memory, which is great for crafting brand recognition.

What if music wasn’t in the picture when it came to advertising and marketing campaigns? The short answer? These campaigns would sorely lack the excellence of communication and delivery. Think about it like a party with no music or a dance with no tunes. It’s not so easily recognized on how music can truly contribute until it’s gone.

No campaign would be seen the same way, even if it were just a simple beat.

How has music been able to impact your own campaigns or how do you plan on incorporating it in the future? Even if it’s in an Instagram Story or on one of your own commercials, let us know!