Most branded spaces such as shops, restaurants, hotels, or showrooms are geared towards getting footfall through the door and parting the owners of said feet with hard-earned cash. Up until fairly recently marketers have for the most part concentrated all their energy on the visual aspects of such customer interaction. From flashing neon signs in the street through to state-of-the-art interiors with glass walls and giant plasma screen, we are drawn in through our eyes, and rightly so, sight is our primary sense after all.
There is however a rising realisation that brands need to work harder to achieve far great cut-through by appealing to as many senses as possible. This is the growing trend for sensory branding. Whilst Muzak has been piped into businesses for decades, and TV advertising has long realised the power of the right song with the right message, it is now more important than ever to tap into emotions and memory through carefully crafted multi-sense contact. As we all become increasingly design and lifestyle savvy, brands need to be instantly recognisable by how they ‘feel’ as much as how they look. Logos, billboards and packaging just aren’t enough.
Successful brands have to create emotional connections with their clientele. It’s part of the trust they build. In the iPod age, music can be seen as a major key to achieving successful lifestyle branding. It strongly defines how people see themselves and how they see a brand. Today people want to go somewhere they trust and be presented with intelligent choices that resonate with them. This creates synergy between the individual and the brand they aspire to be a part of.
Having been highlighted in Martin Lindstrom’s excellent book ‘Brand Sense’, the concept of sensory branding is increasingly being adopted. No more so is this happening than in boutique hotels. They are after all emporiums of sensory pleasure (as well, of course, as places where design ideas often start before filtering down into the mainstream). These very brand-focused establishments are realising that they need to appeal to every sense: taste through the menu, sight through the interiors and touch through the bed and linen. Whilst traditionally, perhaps because sound cannot be tangibly seen, these type of businesses have ignored the emotional power of music, or instead opted for the predictable cookie-cutter Café Del Mar CD, we’ve been dedicated to helping them change that.
We set up Music Concierge to offer a consultancy service to such lifestyle brands with our heart set on designing bespoke, well-thought out music experiences for their clientele. Working on branded spaces and brand communications, we have been able to give our clients unique signature sounds that their customers remember them for.
Whilst most businesses ignore the opportunity that the human senses present, perfume designers, art experts, as well as indeed music consultants, are now able to make brands not just stand-out, but achieve an ‘on-brand’ sensory experience every time someone steps across the threshold or is put on-hold for instance.
All the senses should be used to create customer delight because such attention to detail can give a business an intangible but indelible edge.
Rob Wood is creative director & founder of Music Concierge - an award-winning music consultancy offering a bespoke service to luxury brands and branded spaces www.musicconcierge.co.uk
