Flexicar a small car rental company in Australia has a great initiative where each month they put new CD in their cars for you to listen to whilst you drive around. Even nicer is that once the month has “expired” you can take the CD home with you… Nice touch.
Everything about Flexicar feels easy (going).
This simple promotion becomes even more potent when a company like Flexicar ensures that the music they are promoting consistently aligns with their brand ethos.
This could be put to great use as a mnemonic/trigger in integrated drink driving and speeding campaigns. For example placing them near schools. Interruption can be a good thing.
Lancaster, California has a musical road that has been pock marked with special grooves that sing out a tune.
Made by Honda as part of an upcoming advertising campaign, the road plays “The William Tell Overture” and for best results the company advices you to drive over with a Honda Civic because the company says that the road was tuned specifically to the tires and wheelbase of a Civic.
However the residents want the road back in original tar because many drive past out of key. …for best results the company advices you to drive over with a Honda Civic because the company says that the road was tuned specifically to the tires and wheelbase of a Civic.
The choice of The William Tell Overture strikes me as odd for such an innovative brand and it isn’t compelling enough to motivate people to drive a Honda Civic in order to hear it in key.
The comments section is also worth a read, as it illustrates the confusion that still exists around what sonic branding is and isn’t.
A very big thank you to Preeti Khicha for the opportunity to participate, and for taking the time to explore the exciting and growing area of sonic branding.
ZANY STUNTS WITH THE OFFICE CUTIE | THE AUSTRALIAN
Seamlessly, deliciously realised, enhanced by Adrian Hauser’s and Cazerine Barry’s morphing, multimedia effects, Marcel de Bie’s sound- including dripping water, squeaks and Flamenco rhythms- and Eduard Ingles’s lighting. Risk Reduction is a winner…
“It tells a story of ordinary lives, incorporating dialogue, projected images…voice overs and music that thumps with the insistent rhythms of modern urban living.
I’m not sure if the interaction of sound and colour quite hits the mark - simplifying the colour and animations would help in creating more obvious connections between the sound and light - but the willingness of the crowd to participate is really inspiring.
The use of human voice is really refreshing and personalises the experience.
The means now exist to create amazing brand experiences by connecting the emotional expression of sound to the benefits and personality of your brand, in real- time interactive environments.
Imagine this happening in front of your stores…. powerful stuff.
“People with voices of different frequencies, rhythms or cadences will be able to evoke quite different magical patterns upon the surface of the building - a staccato chirping will result in a completely different set of visual effects to a long howl for example, blending old and new to continue animating the facade of the Minster”.
Muzicons go right to the heart of the power of music - its ability to communicate emotion - succinctly and directly.
They’re already a great personal branding tool - and with a bit of tweaking, mashing and imagination could be turned into a powerful communication tool for brands.
If the creators could make it easier to integrate into blogs, and social networking sites like the iLike Facebook application they could have a real winner on their hands.
Here’s my muzicon for cool. (Apologies if it doesn’t show - Wordpress/the Muzicon site/flash are bit flakey for some reason)
Music Credits
Artist: Barry Adamson
Album: Oedipus Schmoedipus
Song: Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Pelvis
New research suggests that the type of music one listens to while drinking wine can dramatically affect the taste… taste changed by up to 60 percent depending on the vibe of the tune…
From the BBC News:
(In the latest study,) four types of music were played - Carmina Burana by Orff (”powerful and heavy”), Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky (”subtle and refined”), Just Can’t Get Enough by Nouvelle Vague (”zingy and refreshing”) and Slow Breakdown by Michael Brook (”mellow and soft”)
The white wine was rated 40% more zingy and refreshing when that music was played, but only 26% more mellow and soft when music in that category was heard.
The red was altered 25% by mellow and fresh music, yet 60% by powerful and heavy music.
The results were put down to “cognitive priming theory”, where the music sets up the brain to respond to the wine in a certain way.
AEG-Electrolux has installed billboards outfitted with sensors to measure noise levels. So far, they’ve deployed them in London, Berlin, Madrid, Brussels, and Milan. The billboards are part of a “noise awareness” campaign that’s actually a marketing effort for a new “silent” washing machine. The data is also viewable online. Link to AEG Noise Awareness Blog, Link to AEG Noise Awareness site, Link to more info and video at Laughing Squid
