Have you ever found yourself watching a commercial or jingle on TV, and instinctively you start to sing or hum along with the tune? Research shows there’s a reason for that, and it proves that adding music to your ads or creating a jingle can serve as an effective method to sell your products and establish your brand. There has been talk in the advertising industry about jingles being outdated, and that they will eventually become extinct, but is that really the case? We’ve all been there. We’ve all caught ourselves reflexively joining in when any one of a number of today’s popular jingles comes on. Why is that?
Simply put, the way our brain processes information when it’s put to music makes the information easier to remember. Research out of the Memory Lab at Washington University in St. Louis is showing that this occurs because music’s structure lends itself to boosting organized thought. Music has rhythm, and that rhythm aids in repetition, which is what eventually leads to memorization.
Heidi Mitchell of The Wall Street Journal penned an article about this same topic, entitled “Why Does Music Aid in Memorization?”, which elaborates on the benefits of coupling music and memory. Many experts believe that using music as an aid in memorization dates back to ancient times when epic poems and laws were recited orally and passed down for generations. Mitchell quotes Henry L. Roediger III, professor of psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, “Psychologists believe laws, stories, and customs were presented as poems, chants, and eventually, as songs, in order for them to be memorized, and recalled accurately. The idea was that the chant would help people to remember large sets of information across the ages.” For further proof of these benefits, simply look around at modern culture. Nearly every educational children’s show incorporates a singing portion to the program, much like the ABCs song.
So how does this all relate back to marketing and sales? Establishing your brand is all about getting people to remember who you are and what you can do for them, and by putting your ads into a jingle you effectively increase the chances that potential customers will recognize your company simply by hearing the tune. A nice example would be Jared’s Fine Galleria of Jewelry. Whenever Jared’s runs an ad, everyone watching recognizes their signature tag line. Jingles can benefit your company and increase your presence in the market because they help your name stick in people’s minds, and in the end you won’t need to run ads as often. People will be able to recall your sales pitch even if you choose to only run your ads seasonally. So, the next time you hear water cooler discussions about jingles becoming an antiquated marketing tool, simply remember your ABCs, and that music is omnipresent. It is everywhere around us and our brain can and will associate it with just about anything; including your company’s advertisements.
