The problem with icing is that even though it’s yummy and looks great, it’s never fully a part of the cake itself. Icing can be eliminated or swapped at anytime. The baked in elements are the cake itself.
Music in advertising should always be baked into the creative or else it will always be that “extra addition”.
When the initial creative strategy does not include the sound and music in it, it will always just be icing on the cake. Wouldn’t you rather that delicious cream cheese filling with strawberry puree in the middle?
There’s nothing more frustrating than when a marketing campaign or an ad clearly has music that doesn’t match messaging.
You’ve heard it too. Some company is trying to be “cool” or more relevant by choosing the latest and greatest topical song in a kids Spotify playlist. Or even worse, a company uses some obscure song from the 70’s that probably only got placed because it’s the CEO’s favorite band or song.
Sound and music should be about the brand, not about “coolness” factors or executive choice.
Secondary Creates Second Place
Everyone “expects” a hit. A solid home run when it comes to a marketing campaign. Of course they do. It’s clear to THEM what they are selling so, of course, it’s clear to everyone else.
Because of this, putting together the campaign could quite easily become a “going through the motion” sort of thing. The C-Suite wants to sell X, so they sell X with Y template.
“Oh wait. What music should we use?”
“Shoot. I don’t know. Didn’t you say John is a big music fan? Have him find something cool in there. Something flashy and relevant to the teeny boppers.”
“But John doesn’t even work in this department.”
“Well I don’t know anything about music and he’s got a kid. He’ll do fine.”
How can we possibly expect sound and music to create groundbreaking, show-stopping, award winning pieces of branding genius when it’s introduced as a secondary character in the first place?
The Home Run
Here’s the secret to choosing music and sound that fits your campaign or commercial spot or branding perfectly so that you have a chance at groundbreaking, show-stopping, award winning pieces of branding genius.
Brainstorm and choose the music and sound DURING the creative process.
It’s really that simple. If you’d tempt in that 70’s track your boss loved during the creative process, I’m pretty sure you would have known it didn’t work from the beginning.
A Cog in the System
No system is perfect. Sometimes there are too many levels and you are just a cog in the machine. Your voice may not be able to sway the c-suite.
My suggestion here is really take a look at that track your boss loved and ask yourself why he loves it so much. Maybe even ask him or her directly?
If you can get to the root of why he vibes with the song, perhaps you can suggest other tracks that match that vibe. Maybe find a track with the same artist doing a solo project that better fits the commercial. Maybe there is no rhyme or reason and if that’s so it “might” be easier to just suggest (or have someone else suggest) a different track.
Or if it’s John doing the picking, talk to him (or his kid) and try to help them see why your track works.
Music is a subjective thing. But when placed appropriately with other elements, it can become a gateway to understanding the whole work more comprehensively.
Changing An Old System
Thinking of sound as a more important factor is unfortunately a new concept and it’s hard for those set in their advertising world ways to course correct or even care to try.
Advertising and marketing is changing whether we like it or not. New methods must be found in order to remain unique and relevant. Sound strategy is one such method.
Sound on purpose creates more genuine ads. More genuine ads creates more interest and sales. More interests and sales means more kudos to your boss.
