Using Music to Influence Consumer Habits: The Power of Music

Music is the great equalizer. It can bring large groups of people together as I witnessed at a recent Red Hot Chili Peppers concert. Music can instill a sense of anxiousness, chills, or even fear as the villain in the movie is closing in. Music can inspire and create a sense of pride – think of the Rocky films.

Music should also be a tool in every marketer’s tool bag. Marketers and advertisers have long known the power of music to influence consumer buying. Back in the day companies used radio ads and clever jingles to sell aspirins, Alka-Seltzer, and even cigarettes. How many times have you watched a commercial on your smartphone or tablet – because no one watches them on television anymore – and have quickly noticed the popular song playing at the end of the spot? Presto! The product is now burned into your memory bank.

Every company on the planet now uses music to sell products – from cars to fast food restaurants to Easter candy. Music fills the airwaves and our ears and makes us purchase certain consumer goods.

Music adds to our memory and memory and emotion are the keys in marketing and advertising. Music effortlessly strikes certain emotions. Consumers, especially millennial shoppers, want to connect on personal human level and nothing works better than music. It doesn’t even matter which genre of music as long as it fits the advert and causes the viewer to seek out that product.

Don’t believe us? The folks at Nielsen, who track everything that consumers could possibly ever watch and buy, put together this enlightening 2015 Nielson Study. Nielsen looked at the effectiveness of 600+ television advertisements, 500 of those utilized music in their spots. The company’s findings showed that commercials with music performed better across the four measured metrics—creativity, empathy, emotive power, and information power—than those that didn’t. If the results of the Nielsen report don’t move you as a marketer to get your music game on point than nothing will.

After reading the study and the charts you no doubt see the emotive power of music and how it impacts consumer buying habits. My hope is this blog was helpful and now I am off to download more music.

Read more:

• Top Songs To Make Your Marketing POP!