Episode 6- How to Use a Universal Language in Your Marketing Strategy

Today’s episode is about how sound can be used as a universal language and can drive marketing effectively and efficiently.  

This podcast is here to educate on the power of sound, the possibilities of sound and the accessibility of sound in marketing to all brands both big and small.  Sound marketing is a great way to break through the noise that visual marketing creates. This podcast breaks down what has happened, is happening, and insights on what’s happening in the future.  But the biggest take away is that you can be a company of 1 or a company of 1,000, sound marketing is accessible and affordable for us all.

My name is Jeanna and I’m Head of Audio at Dreamr Productions and Stage Ham Entertainment.  I create sound identities for companies, brands, individuals, and events. I have a passion for sound and what it’s capable of and I want to share how massively effective a curated sound can be for a brand identity.  So stop and listen for a bit as I create a sound picture of what sonic branding is all about, what it’s doing and what it means to the future of marketing a business. 

Humans tend to use the same sounds or avoid certain sounds in languages all over the world.  There are sound symbolism patterns. In the articles that I wrote about this episode, word lists were analyzed over nearly two thirds of the world’s languages.  Researchers found that a considerable amount of 100 basic vocabulary items associate strongly with specific kinds of human speech sounds. These are from unrelated languages that often use or avoid the same sounds. 

According to Morten H. Christiansen, professor of psychology and director of Cornell’s Cognitive Neuroscience lab, “These sound symbolic patterns show up again and again across the world, independent of the geographical dispersal of humans and independent of language lineage.” This goes to show that sound is beyond language. 

Without speech and apparently without connection, the world is similar in its communication foundations.  

So what about music?

In a huge experiment, scientists asked hundreds of English speakers all over the world to listen to different genres of music from non-Western cultures.  The results were that those listeners quickly distinguished lullabies and dance songs.  Granted this is a survey from English speakers only but the article states that they will be conducting the experiment next with non-english speaking participants.  There was also another online test done that included both US and Indian participants.

A theory put forward is that the origin of “Lullabies, for example, may have evolved from parent-offspring interactions.”  This makes sense that before language skills are built, offspring can communicate with the world in the form of song.  This just goes to prove that music and sound is inherently encased in us.  It’s one of the first things we are cognitive of at the beginning of our existence; before we are even born.  In utero, we hear and feel our mothers’ heartbeat and voice. We come out knowing who she is. That is powerful!

This is all subjective and even this study said that they couldn’t prove music as a “universal language” per se but what I believe is that it proves that you can more than get your gist across.  It’s like sitting at a table with a French speaking person and being able to recall your 2 years of high school french. You won’t be able to delve into a huge conversation on the meaning of life, the universe and everything (42), but you’ll at least be able to say “hello” and “my name is”. “Bonjour” and “je m’appelle”.

Mindshare released a report recently on statistics of streaming through platforms such as Spotify.  A lot of fascinating information but something in particular I wanted to share for this episode.  

“55% (of listeners) listen to music streaming services weekly” (According to Mindreader Wave 9, 2019. This data was taken over 47 markets globally). “55% agree that streaming music is helping them expand their musical knowledge and explore other genres” (According to Mindshare, Music Listening Attitudes and Consumption Formats (Mexico, India, US, China and UK), 2019). “In the music streaming segment, the number of users is expected to reach 978.1 million by 2023” (According to Statista, November 018, Digital Market Outlook). 

“In 2018, the streaming revenue accounted for almost half (47%) of global revenue, driven by a 32.9% increase in paid subscription streaming. Last year represented the fourth consecutive year of growth” (According to the Global Music Report 2019).

Streaming is how people discover new music.  It is how they curate their tastes and preferences.

19.1 billion dollar global music market spends a majority of their time on streaming platforms and they want someone else to curate their content.  You’re probably still wondering why I bring this up in regards to marketing.  

Cari Kesten, Global Agency Associate Director says it perfectly, “We all remember the first time we discovered our favorite band, and the excitement we felt sharing it with others. How can your brand tap into discovery to build that level of connection with your consumer?” 

We are in an age of a fully immersive audio experience and we’re enjoying it.

So let’s say you’re intrigued and you want to figure out how to advertise on some of these streaming platforms.  There are 2 links to check out and if nothing else, email them and ask for more information.

The first is for Spotify’s Beta Ad Studio.  I checked it out and for a minimum ad spend of $250, they’ll work with you on coming up with a creative ad that, ideally, reaches your target audience.

Also, here is a link for Pandora’s ad platform.  I couldn’t find pricing for this one but they have a contact form that you can email them questions.  I would imagine they do custom pricing depending on budget and business size.  

Pandora also has a podcast about the power of sound and as far as I can tell Pandora, Veritonic , and me are the only ones honing in on this….I find that a bit strange but there you have it.

I’m highly curious about both Spotify and Pandora so if you go that route, let me know your experiences.  I’d love to share the results on here too to help others bridge that gap. It’s such a new landscape out there.  We need to help each other out.  I also go into a little more detail about both in a later Episode (Episode 8).

My goal for this podcast is to peak your interest, or possibly even blow your mind.  Let’s think outside the box at what is hovering all around us; sound. It’s powerful, it’s engaging, it’s us.  I’d love to hear your thoughts so, connect with me on LinkedIn, follow on Facebook, or email me at jeanna@dreamrproductions.com .  Let’s travel this road together.  If you need help in developing what your Sound In Marketing landscape may look like, don’t hesitate to reach out and let’s brainstorm together.  

Let’s make this world of sound more intriguing, more unique, and more and more on brand.

This podcast is available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, and Podbean.  Coming soon to iHeart Radio.

Site Sources 

https://www.languagemagazine.com/2016/09/13/study-suggests-universal-sounds/ https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/09/06/1605782113.abstract

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/your-brain-knows-what-songs-are-no-matter-where-they-came-180967946/ https://www.lashortsfest.com/film-program https://www.mindshareworld.com/sites/default/files/Culture%20Vulture%20-%20Issue%2013%20-%20The%20Power%20of%20Music.pdf

https://adstudio.spotify.com/?utm_source=us_brand_contextual_text&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=alwayson_multi_multi_partnersolutions_adstudio_paidsearch+desktoptest_brand+contextual+text+exact+us+google&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3JXSi6SC4wIVisVkCh0jrAA9EAAYASAAEgIe_PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.pandoraforbrands.com/ad-solutions

https://soundcloud.com/pandorabrands

http://thesonictruth.com/