Musical marketing: brands should fine tune campaigns using music

F and F-sharp — two simple bass notes that define the classic thriller Jaws. That score still effectively strikes a chord of suspense and fear in many fans. And can you imagine the crawling text that opens each episode of Star Wars without its epic soundtrack?

Music is a powerful force for evoking endless varieties of emotions and connecting people around the world. Music is so influential, in fact, that people in an A/B test environment spent 433% more time using products when they were accompanied by music, according to a recent study.

Beyond movies, we draw automatic and intense connections between all types of brands and arts and the music used to represent them. Visuals are always important, but auditory sensations that we correlate with an artist or brand can ignite, and unite, our emotions and loyalty.

To hit that note, the music associated with your brand needs to be memorable and iconic. Hiring a composer like John Williams to create an unforgettable score isn’t necessary, but your objective is still the same — integrate music deeply and strategically into your brand’s DNA.

Bridging the music and marketing divide

Brands today struggle to stand out in a crowded, often oversaturated market. With so many entrepreneurs who have so many ideas — and the technology to bring those ideas to market and to scale faster than ever before — breaking through requires extraordinary creativity.

To that end, music producer Alex Da Kid is a genius example of someone who seamlessly bridges music and advertising. Through his relationships with premiere ad agencies, Alex was able to arrange a deal between Universal Music Group and X Ambassadors, a band on his KIDinaKORNER label, to create the music for the Jeep’s Renegade 4×4 commercial campaign.

Not only did the catchy, inspiring tune Renegade help Jeep sell 51 971 Renegades, the track also launched the X Ambassadors into alternative rock stardom by hitting No. 1 on five of Billboard’s charts.

With an ear for sound, you can find the perfect accompaniment for your brand using these three approaches:

Identify your style to find the right publisher

Research online (and on social media) to explore your target audience’s musical interests. You can streamline the process by selecting the right publisher. Find one with a solid library that fits your brand’s musical DNA, and one that can assist in licensing copyrights for your ad and marketing campaigns.

Music being both an integral piece of Budweiser’s marketing and a point of passion for its young fans, the concert stage was filled with hip-hop and indie rock artists for its fourth “Made in America” festival. To define a style that will effortlessly promote your brand by appealing to your target customer, think in terms of musical genres: Would rock, country, or electronic dance music better represent your brand?

Strike a symbiotic deal with the artist you want

You already have more in common than you think — for starters, you’re both eager to find success. Young artists are hungry to attach themselves to relevant products. Like Jeep and X Ambassadors, the right brand can give artists the platform they need to reach their own audiences and grown their fan bases in unique and exciting ways.

In fact, artists who join forces with the right brands can anticipate 10 to 25% more Twitter mentions, retweets, Twitter and Instagram followers, and Facebook likes within a week of announcing the partnership. Find out if your company could offer any additional marketing impetus to the musicians you want to work with for an upcoming album release or tour.

Sponsor a music festival

By becoming a partner or a title sponsor at a large music festival in a city relevant to your brand, you can expose your brand through music and experiential platforms. The artists and influencers’ in the lineup can also directly promote your brand through online content and live-video releases.

Big trends in fashion and entertainment often originate at music festivals like Coachella, which means getting your name out there and associated with the right acts goes a long way toward embedding your brand’s music DNA in the minds of concertgoers. If consumers can relate an experience to a brand, it will only help solidify their future loyalty to the brand’s product or service.

Music marketing firm Momentum Worldwide released a survey last year reporting that 93% of festival attendees like brands that sponsor music events. What’s more, 80% of them are more likely to support brands involved in festivals on social media; and 55% said they’d be more likely to purchase products if they saw them promoted at a music festival.

Finding the right music for your brand is as powerful as finding your own voice. Just as you develop trust and intimacy with other people through clear and expressive communication, incorporating music creates emotional ties for fans to movies, brands, and experiences.

Without a doubt, finding just the right music and partners is challenging. But along the journey, you will discover insight into one of the most exciting and effective ways to convey your message to your audience.