The amazing power of sound. For you and your brand.

People say ‘“you have to see it to believe it”, I think you have to hear it first.

© jasonrosewell

Music has always been an integral part of my development. It was free of charge, it was accessible at the snap of 2 fingers (literally) and, overall, it was my family’s joy.

Both in my personal life and career, it became clear that sound is one of the most important tools we can use to grow and move forward. It provides access to every emotion, it can change lives, it can penetrate the brain and stay there for a lifetime.

People say ‘you have to see it to believe it’, I think … ‘you have to hear it first’.

The conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim explained sound in the best possible way:

“The ear has a head start over the eye, which doesn’t see anything until it comes out. The eye is also something that one can control more fully. If you don’t like the way I look, and you don’t want to see me, you close your eyes and I disappear. But if you don’t like my voice and you’re in the same room, then you cannot shut your ears in a natural way. Sound literally penetrates the human body.”

Think about it!

• What happens when you are in a bad mood and listen to your favourite song?
• What about when you are happy and listen to those uplifting tunes?
• How do you concentrate when you work?
• How do you exercise?
• How do you spend the most time with your friends?
• When you read ‘Parapapapaa… I’m Lovin’ It’, what do you immediately hear and think about? I’m sure not JT, but McDonald’s 2003 marketing campaign.

Music touches so many areas in the brain, so this article is only a short intro into ‘The Power of Sound’.

As a human first and then a creative, I learned that sounds are highly correlated with colours. This is called Chromesthesia. It represents the involuntary visual experience of colour after an acoustic perception. Upbeat, happy sounds make you feel bright colours, while lower pitches are rather dark.

Take my favourite YT channel COLORS. If you do not know it, you are in for music and aesthetic treat. Although the melodies there could be a rainbow of colours, they associate each artist and piece of music with only one colour. Brilliant!

Now think about the implications this can have for an advert…

I will briefly explain ‘The power of Sound’ from a personal & social perspective, and an advertising one.

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato

Sound from a personal & social perspective…

I could not live or work without music, and research backs the ‘why’.

Personally, listening to music helps:

• Reduce stress and anxiety;
• Get a creativity boost;
• Joggle the memory;
• Concentrate;
• Increase productivity;
• Increase motivation;
• Release Dopamine (Which helps with almost everything).

A colleague once told me ‘I don’t like music, I never listen to it. What’s the point?’. He was permanently stressed, taking action only for the purpose of ticking boxes without any enjoyment of the process. Needless to say that his energy was not one you want around you. After he understood the magic of sounds, his life took a turn for the better. Creativity started to flow and experiences became richer.

Playing an instrument is also a source of health and progress. Harvard neurologist Gottfried Schlaug shows in a 2003 study that it helps increase the volume of white matter and improves connections in the brain. For me, playing the guitar is an amazing relaxation. It’s never too late to learn, it will help you a lot!

From a social perspective, music can empower whole communities and be a mechanism for change. It brings people together and makes the hard times seem easy.

Take a look at Sound of Change, a social enterprise that uses music to help people develop into positive changemakers in their community. Check them out, I applaud their efforts!

Or think about traditional music in your country. All cultures make music, from the most ancient to the most developed. Listening to traditional sounds can teach you a lot about history, customs, and what makes a community vibrate.

Sounds from an advertising perspective …

Sound has an enormous impact on human emotion. For brands, it evokes trust, empathy, connection, freedom or whatever story needs to be told.

Let’s put it to the test!

These are some of my favourite ads of all time. What do they make you feel?

Bacardi — Sound of Rum sound from MassiveMusic

John Lewis — Christmas from Adam&EveDDB

KLM — To more memories together sound from MassiveMusic

Nike — What are girls made of? from Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam sound MassiveMusic

Sony- Bouncing Balls from Fallon

A study by Nielsen shows that music ads perform better than non-music ads.

Therefore, marketers need to understand who they are targeting, what message they need to send, what emotion the audience should feel and what after-effect the ad should have on the viewer.

Overall, whether it’s an original creation, a famous song or a few notes in a jingle, music is a brand’s best strategy for creating emotions.

I will elaborate this in a future article.

SOUND is the most powerful tool you can use for yourself or your business. I would love to hear about your favourite tracks, ads or music channels.

Stay musical!