• by Larry Dobrow , Featured Columnist, May 1, 2009

HARMONIZING

Rather than aurally bludgeoning their targets with everything from minute-long jingles to rejiggered pop songs, marketers attempting to appeal to consumers' ears now prize consistency above all else. You'll hear the same melodies in the lobby of every Westin Hotel, whether it's located in Istanbul or Iowa. You'll hear the same ambient tones in Singapore Airlines lounges and cabins as when you're placed on hold.

In short, it's no longer all about the volume. Savvier companies have amply demonstrated this with campaigns that not only bind a single note or series of notes to a company's brand, but also invest that quick jolt of memory with meaning. Think about the minimalist, four-note Intel jingle or the epic-by-comparison five-note T-Mobile one. Better still, think about the single-note, unfasten-your-seatbelts ding! utilized to such great effect by Southwest Airlines. "They play that sound in their ads and it's almost like saying their name," says Paul Kiewiet, president and ceo of promotion and management consultancy BrandKiwi. "They've connected it directly to their message of freedom."

Drink manufacturers are in on the act, as well. When a soft-drink aficionado opens his beverage of choice, he is conditioned to expect the crisp sound of unleashed carbonation; he associates that sound with freshness. Starbucks, on the other hand, trumpets the authenticity of its in-store environment with its every aural blast from a coffeemaker. "A big part of the overall experience is hearing the kwaaaaaah sound from the machine. You mean to tell me that they couldn't find a way to make that quieter if they tried?" asks Jon Schickedanz, an account executive with multisensory branding consultancy DMX.

As opposed to the sturdy, classic-rock mainstays that used to rise above the shopping din, marketers have in recent years moved toward a more sophisticated approach - different musical interludes for different parts of a store, or ambient nature sounds piped in at a level just below the user's consciousness. "We will evolve beyond the Muzak version of Springsteen's Born to Run - a great song, but not when rendered in flute and harp," quips Patrick Scullin of Ames Scullin O'Haire. "The music will be there not to blanket the retail space, but rather to accent and spice displays, acting as a soundtrack to an experience."

That's how it ought to be, says Mitchell of the Wisconsin School of Business. "The ideal place to be is just on the edge of awareness. If a customer notices [the music], it's too loud," she explains.

And yet there's always room for more, especially in the online arena. When a consumer places an item in his Amazon shopping basket, why doesn't some kind of checkout-type sound - even something as basic as the ringing of a cash register - peal from his speakers? When a consumer confirms his payment information online, why doesn't he hear the clicking-sliding sound associated with an old-school credit card tchotchke?

"You have people putting [sound] chips into the caps of beverages now," says Martin Lindstrom. "It's disappointing that companies aren't thinking more intuitively about the sounds they use on the Internet."

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