Music as part of branding

Posted on 29/06/2015 by Karen
 

When most people think of what constitutes ‘branding’, they think of a logo and the ‘look’ of the website, marketing material, business cards, etc. But branding is so much more than that.

It’s everything from the way the store is laid out, the way a company’s staff interact with customers, the way the phone is answered (or not) the clothes that staff wear, their policies and procedures (or lack of them!), how they deal with complaints. And then of course it’s their products or services, their vehicles (how they are driven, are they clean?) and their advertising. Which brings me to music.
 

Which TV commercials do you recognise from the music?

I was watching a program on TV and ducked out of the room during a commercial break (as you do) but kept an ear out so I could hear when the program resumed. I could hear the music of a particular ad, which is still relatively new but I could identify it immediately. AirBnB. Their music is quite distinctive and you know that it’s their ad even before you hear the woman speaking or they say the name of the company. The melody is kind of light and breezy, perfect for taking you away. Which is what AirBnB is all about. That’s good branding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIba1WaNgJY
 

Shops use music as branding all the time

Retail clothing stores at my local shopping centre all have their own music. Sometimes I see something interesting in the window and wander in, only to be assaulted by extremely loud doof-doof ‘noise-pollution’ (as my dad used to call it) which immediately sends the message… ‘Lady, you are WAY too OLD to shop here!’ And I’m out the door.

If you have a shop, it’s worthwhile asking the question: What message does your music send to your customers?