While nearly all brands have thorough and well-documented visual guidelines, only 17% claim to have audio communications guidelines.
Nick Wood, film composer, record producer and CEO of Syn World, shared this stunning statistic at Colab 2019, our Global Summit in Singapore last month. Stunning because of how powerful sound and music are to human beings, more powerful than the visual cues that often take precedence in our industry. “You can shut your eyes, but you can’t shut your ears,” Nick argued.
Nick encouraged our network of independent agencies in the audience to put music front and center--to bring it into the creative process, plan and budget early, and leave plenty of time for collaboration and unique compositions. He presented a number of compelling reasons why music should not be an afterthought:
1. Music is Easier for Our Brains
Consider how long it would take you to recognize a piece of art by seeing only 5% of the painting. Now consider how long it would take you to recognize a piece of music by just 5 notes. Human beings are more prejudice to sound than images. “Such is the power of music to influence us in an immediate way where words can remain powerless,” Nick shared.
He further explained that are brains are so good at detecting auditory signals, that we process them when we’re not paying attention, when we’re distracted and even when our attention gets divided amongst many other tasks, as is so often the case in our distracted, always-on world today.
2. Music Taps Into Our Emotions
“A great song or soundtrack holds a powerful mirror up to our thoughts, ideas and experiences,” Nick shared. He went on to explain that music has the ability to reach deep into our subconscious, and tap into “a world of emotions in a way no other medium can.”
3. Music Improves Ad Performance
Musical ad campaigns are 27% more likely to report large business effects, compared to non-musical campaigns. People pay more attention and absorb the message better when there’s (good) music accompanying ad campaigns.
4. Music is Great Value for the Money
Compared to what’s spent on visual elements and production, the portion of budget set aside for music is often miniscule. Yet the impact is huge. Music contributes a great deal to the emotive effects of a campaign, and it’s often what people remember most about an ad.
5. Music Creates Authenticity
When composing for The Brighton Miracle, a film about Japan’s underdog rugby team beating two-time champions South Africa in the 2015 World Cup, Syn World decided to take a subtle yet clever approach to the music’s percussion ensemble.
By smacking rugby balls with mallets and sticks, Nick created a drum beat that is unique to the film and makes for a great background story for promoting the finished content. “Small things with music can tell a great story,” Nick affirmed.
6. Music Is Collaborative
Whether it’s a full orchestra with hundreds of different musicians, or a single composer stitching together various samples, music is always a collaborative process. And this collaboration can lead to uncommon ideas and unprecedented final products.
Nick explained this collaboration, not by simply telling the audience about it, but by getting them involved. Audience members were asked to hit record on their phones, snap their fingers and sing along to a bouncing ball on screen, then send the recording to the Syn World team in Tokyo. Within hours, the final composition was sent back for a special and moving piece.
Nick wrapped up his presentation by taking questions from the independent agencies in the audience, helping to further define the best creative brief and collaboration process, discussing the different types of music options for ad campaigns (1. famous music licensing; 2. bespoke music; 3. library music; and 4. get out your iPhone and sing, the most cost effective of the options!), and stressing the powerful outcome of music and advertising.
“I’m a huge fan of music to picture and the magical results that can be achieved when collaborators from different disciplines join forces.”