Music As a Therapy
I first discovered music therapy in 2006 or 2007. It fascinated me and I was going to go back to school for it. The idea of music or rhythmic sounds healing people with mental illnesses or helping to soothe those with physical illnesses back to health was absolutely mind boggling and I loved it. Honestly, I think that that was my first introduction to sonic identity.
Maybe that’s a stretch to some of you but think about it. If we have the ability to heal with sound and music, then we have the ability to manipulate (in a good way) what we want people to “feel” about our brand or product.
I found an interesting article on sound healing that I wanted to share. I know for some this article may be a stretch but the point I’m trying to make is beyond the healing philosophy. We have the ability to project different reactions and results on a subject through sound manipulation. Just by raising or lowering frequencies, speeding up or slowing down a rhythm, or manipulating the actual sounds being played, spoken, or sung with different movements of your mouth or throat or body, you can deliver different emotional results. With that kind of power you can really tell your story any way you deem relevant.
So with this I’m asking you to step back for a minute and really think about what this means.
Dependent on what sounds and frequencies are introduced or not introduced into your marketing ventures determines the emotional response your customers, clients, and patrons have for your product.
This is extremely important. Because emotional response controls buying tendencies. Have a good experience, you “buy in” and most commonly continue buying in. Have a bad experience, and you’re out of there.
So, for example, if you pick music that is too fast, or too loud, or too high pitched, your audience could misunderstand your full intention. If you chose a British female voice artist for your American “apple pie” product, the listener could potentially write you off completely and move on for lack of “sincerity”. Any of these are detrimental. You could potentially have lost a customer or lost the opportunity of a new customer because of a reaction to a single out of place sound.
To me that just blows my mind. All the more reason to find a sound that is sincere and represents your brand.
Of course, this is easier said than done, but that’s why you don’t go about this alone. You should have a customer persona built, focus groups that you can bounce sound ideas off of, friends and family to throw concepts at, and when you’re ready; a sound strategist or agency that can help hold your hand while you develop your all encompassing sound identity together.
Remember, you don’t jump into a visual logo identity without putting some thought into it first. So why would you jump into a sound identity?
What I’ve been witnessing in the world lately, especially in the last 10 years or so, is that everyone is testing out their voice. Everyone “has something to say”. Look at the world of social media, and vloggers, bloggers, podcasters. Everyone is saying something. Everyone wants to be heard. But if what you’re saying is the same as what everyone else is saying, you won’t be heard. Brands and marketers are working furiously to come up with new and exciting ways to “say something”. There is no model. Nothing is tried and true anymore; there isn’t time.
We can look at that as scary or daunting or just plain overwhelming. Or we can just get out there and try something new. The worse thing that’ll happen is you’ll learn a little more about yourself and your brand. You’ll at least be able to scratch things off your list.
I’d be curious if any of these social media influencers have considered a sonic branding. It would definitely give them a louder voice in the chaos of all these people saying “here I am listen to me let me influence you”. And even more of rabbit hole, advertisers could be manipulated by those influencers they want to advertise their brand through by the way the influencer advertises themselves. Man could that be a crazy loop!
Grab your tie-die and color tinted sunglasses, Woodstock is coming back for the 50th Anniversary. It’s hard to believe it will be what it was 50 years ago, especially after the disaster of the one in the late 90’s. I mean…Miley Cyrus is on the line-up. Not really someone I tie to Woodstock-ish…But who knows. I’d be curious to see if it really is all about the music as it’s intention was originally. Or if it just turns into a big advertisement. We’ll see.
I’m also curious what the ticket price is. It’s not posted yet. That could be a doozie in itself!
My book suggestion for you is Brand Sense: Sensory Secrets Behind the Stuff We Buy Martin Lindstrom paints a very clear picture of the huge canvas of possibility that we have in marketing through the senses that is widely untapped. It’s a great book to flip around in and get to the meat of what intrigues you. I loved especially the story about Singapore Airlines and their ability to create a distinct “smell”.
I just finished writing theme music for an excellent podcast called Fueling Her Further. Talia has a great message and you should check it out ( and not just to hear my music). She’s empowering women to really represent themselves and not settle. I really enjoy it.
I’ve actually been writing a ton of logos and themes lately and they are up on Pond5. If you’re interested in playing with some sound concepts for your brand or for a campaign, you can find some pre-made “out of the box” logos here.
I wanted to leave you with this. There is nothing wrong with traditional marketing. In fact, it’s important to make sure you dot your i’s and cross your t’s because traditional marketing is still very much alive and relevant. But with how fast the world moves and technology evolves, we must stay up to pace with it all. We have to be proactive in searching out the new and bold ways of communication.
