Sophie Burke, Head of Marketing at global digital fitness media company Zoom Media, thinks that brands should be turning up the music this Christmas………..
So, still a few days to go until we’re past the middle of winter. For now, it’s about waking up in the dark, soup instead of salad and total confusion about what to wear as the weather can’t make up its mind. It’s not all doom and gloom though; Christmas is upon us, the mulled wine is making an appearance and there is nothing better than log fires and a mince pie to warm the spirits.
…..apart from music. At the moment we are getting into the mood by listening to Christmas songs and buying/avoiding the X Factor single. It’s incredible how something as uncomplicated as music can evoke and produce so many varied feelings, emotions, connections and indeed influence your behaviour. Research by Dr Costas Karageorghis from Brunel University, London, has shown that running with music helps improve your physical performance by 15%, according to research they published in 2008.
Zoom Unsigned Stereo from Zoom Media UK on Vimeo.
The power of music is something that advertisers are starting to understand too. It’s a vehicle to connect with the viewer/listener. With clever marketing, a particular tune can become shorthand for a brand. John Lewis are masters of this. They turn their much anticipated ads into a major event with the choice of music track every bit as important as the visuals. As a result have made a rather ‘mumsy’ brand inextricably linked to a ‘cool’ band or singer (who is also launched/relaunched to success levels that some X Factor winners would love to achieve) .
That’s why some of the adverts we show on our digital-out-of-home Gym TV network (in-gym TV screens to entertain/pump you up while you work out) are purposely linked with a “remember me” song, like the advert for Pill from Beats by Dre that we ran featuring the “Blurred Lines” song.
This makes advertising work harder which is key when you are a brand trying to reach an elusive upmarket, young target audience. Our own research through Kantar Media showed that 63% of gym goers watch less than three hours of TV per week and over 78% fast forward through ads while watching catch up TV. What’s also interesting, though, is that a study carried out by Neuro Insight on behalf of Vevo last year showed that ads surrounding online music videos are more likely to be remembered by consumers than ads following online TV clips.
The great value music creates to consumers and advertisers alike is why we recently launched our own talent scouting initiative – Zoom Unsigned. This is a project to encourage unsigned artists and bands to send us their videos or tracks for a chance to get seen on our screens across nearly 700 health clubs in the UK.
The response has been huge and we’re really excited to see who we discover. For me, it’s the helping hand that I enjoy but then we haven’t received any Rylan wannabe’s yet so there is still time for me to eat my words. If you know any singers or bands who you think deserve a break in 2014 do tell them to get in touch via our website – http://www.zoommedia.com/en-us/zoom-unsigned. After all, we all know that Christmas is a time to give and not just receive.
Sophie Burke, Zoom Media
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