With music and sound in brand videos so often a quick pick or an afterthought, we look at just how impactful hitting the right note can be for finance brands looking to elevate their video content.
The impact of music in a brand video
Having researched the effectiveness of more than 600 television advertisements, 500 of which included music, Nielsen revealed the powerful impact music in advertising has in evoking emotion from audiences. The research indicated, “commercials with some form of music performed better across four key metrics – creativity, empathy, emotive power, and information power – than those that didn’t.” The message here for financial marketers is that music and sound can make your video memorable or leave it murmuring in the background.
For Ryan Grogan, partner and composer at Klang Studios, music is often the missing piece in a polished and effective brand video. And with a few strings to his musical bow, Grogan’s opinion is worth a listen. Grogan has been composing music for TV, film and games for more than 20 years and has written music for a wide variety of projects including TV series, numerous television commercials, documentaries, short films and games. He composed the music for two children’s animation series and received an award for best music for children’s TV at the 2012 Australian Screen Music Awards.
Why do you think music and sound are important for video content?
“At Klang, we believe that music and sound is a medium through which stories can be created and told. Music and sound can give a brand a unique identity and help them connect with audiences in an emotive way. With the rise of high quality online content, it’s never been more important to give music and sound the same amount of attention and thought to help lift your brand and make it stand out from the crowd.” Designed to complement and support video visuals and messaging, financial marketers should work collaboratively with content and video producers from the outset to hone in on the style and tone that’s right for their branded content.
“ Music and sound can give a brand video a unique identity and help brands connect with audiences in an emotive way.”
What are the common pitfalls when choosing music and sound?
“A common pitfall is treating music as the last piece of the puzzle, almost like an after-thought. We understand that some marketers don’t want to distract or dominate the viewer away from their content messaging. However, music and sound doesn’t necessarily have to be this way,” says Grogan.
Proven to improve the effectiveness and engagement for videos, a study by audio branding agency, PHMG found that 66% of people believe music is more memorable when used in marketing. The research carried out by PHMG also measured participants’ reactions to a series of audio clips and found music could evoke strong emotional reactions that influence how a business is viewed.
Financial marketers should listen up to these impressive stats and stop treating music and sound as a final step, but rather as an opportunity to engage and connect with audiences on a more emotive level. “Having bespoke music written to picture means you’ll enhance the content in the right places and in a more meaningful way. Even if you don’t have the budget for original music, at least give some serious thought to selecting a production track that captures and appeals to your audience and gives your brand a unique point of view.”
What’s the benefit of bespoke music?
“Marketers are realising that online video content now has to have similar production values to above the line commercials. This is because of the advancements in technology and how the public consumes it. So with that in mind, the use of bespoke music is something marketers are more aware of than before. In the past, production music would have been the go-to solution when creating branded content but now marketers realise that bespoke music can be a very useful and effective tool in leveraging their branded content.”
Listen and watch
The Expedia How Far campaign is a great example of how the brand used tech, music, sound and story to capture the true essence of Australia. The campaign showcased 360degree views of various locations throughout Australia and we were able to use music and sound to highlight each destination, giving the audience a fully immersive experience.
If you’re looking to create content that will prick your audience’s ears and hold their attention, get in touch with The Dubs.
