The role of music in advertising: types, functions, and impact on the consumer

Music is essential in everyday life, and it plays an equally important role in advertising. Within campaigns, music plays a fundamental role in constructing and conveying messages. Throughout this article, we'll explore its functions, the types used, and how it influences consumers.

What is music for advertising?

Music in advertising constitutes a expressive resource that complements the visual and verbal message of a campaignIts presence in advertisements is not merely an aesthetic goal, but rather an integral part of the communication design, providing sound elements that enrich the consumer's overall experience.

Through musical selection, brands seek build an auditory environment that reinforces your identity and desired positioningMusic, therefore, becomes a strategic component that helps define the tone, rhythm, and atmosphere of each advertising piece.

How does music influence advertising?

The use of music in advertising has a direct impact on the the way messages are perceived and processed by the publicIts influence manifests itself both emotionally and cognitively, modulating the recipient's experience and influencing their response to brand stimuli.

Some main ways in which music influences advertising:

• Set the emotional tone: Music helps set the overall mood of the ad, guiding the emotional interpretation of the message.
• Facilitates recall: Certain melodies or jingles can become fixed in the consumer's memory, promoting the recall of the brand or product.
• Reinforces the narrative: In advertisements with a narrative structure, music acts as a common thread that provides cohesion and continuity.
• Increase attention: An appropriate use of rhythmic and melodic elements helps to capture and maintain the audience's attention throughout the advertisement.
• Modulates the visual rhythm: The music interacts with the visual montage, synchronizing the progression of images and reinforcing the fluidity of the content.
• Create cultural associations: Music can evoke cultural or generational contexts that place the advertisement in a shared frame of reference.

Types of music used in advertising

The selection of the type of music to use in an advertising campaign depends on several factors: the brand profile, the target audience, the media, and the communication objectives. Each type of music offers specific characteristics which can be used for different purposes within the creative strategy.

Between the Main types of music used in advertising are found:

• Original Jingles: Musical compositions created specifically for an advertisement, with the aim of being directly associated with the brand.
• Licensed Popular Music: well-known songs whose rights are acquired for use in campaigns, taking advantage of their recognition and cultural significance.
• Instrumental or library music: Pre-existing pieces of generic use, selected to accompany advertisements in a flexible and economical way.
• Original soundtracks: Custom-designed compositions for large-scale campaigns, adapted to the narrative and aesthetics of the advertising piece.
• Silence or minimalist use of sound: In some cases, the partial or total absence of music is used strategically to create contrast or emphasize other elements of the message.
• Adaptations of classic themes: Updated versions or reinterpretations of well-known musical pieces, used to connect with different audiences or renew brand perception.

Functions of music in advertising

Beyond its aesthetic value, Music plays multiple roles within the advertising strategyIts use allows for optimizing message transmission and strengthening audience connections at different levels.

Between the main functions that music fulfills in advertising stand out:

• Accompany and reinforce the visual message: provides a sound context that complements the images and facilitates their interpretation.
• Build brand identity: It helps define the brand's personality and establish consistent sound associations over time.
• Facilitate recognition: Distinctive melodies or jingles allow consumers to quickly identify the brand.
• Stimulate emotional responses: The affective component of music generates emotional reactions that can predispose one favorably towards the message.
• Orienting temporal perception: By using tempo and rhythm, music can modulate the perception of the duration of the advertisement.
• Generate recollection and loyalty: The repeated use of certain musical elements strengthens the consumer's emotional relationship with the brand.
• Unify multi-channel campaigns: The consistent use of musical elements facilitates the integration of campaigns across different media and platforms.

The impact of music on consumers

The impact of music on the audience is complex and multifaceted. Acting on emotional, cognitive, and sensory levels, Music can influence the way consumers interpret advertising messages. and the relationship they establish with brands.

Various studies indicate that The presence of appropriate music in an advertisement increases the likelihood of recall and improves the overall perception of the campaign.. Likewise, music can influence the formation of positive associations and the consolidation of brand identity in the consumer's mind. The final impact will depend largely on the consistency between the musical selection and the communication objectives of each campaign.

In Madrid Ad School We understand that music not only accompanies a campaign, but can also make the difference between an ad that goes unnoticed and one that connects with the audience. That's why, in our programs, we train future creatives to understand how to use music strategically and emotionally in their advertising pieces.