This past week I spoke at an Audio Branding conference in New York City. As a result of my talk I was interviewed by NPR on the topic of Brand Anthems. It's an interesting topic and idea.
Most of us accept the idea that some brands carry a certain amount of cultural star power. People align themselves to brands the same way they align to some celebrities and cultural icons. Brands are rock stars and rock stars are brands. Add to this the fact that people, especially the younger generation, expect brands to have a social point of view and participate in society in an authentic way. With this context and expectations, brands need to find ways to engage people in deeper ways.
Social Media dialogue is one way to engage, but there are also the emotional power of music. We use jingles and sometimes even a audio "stinger" with a logo, but most of these audio treatments are about creating cues to help you remember a brand. They don't rally or create deep emotional attachments.
Music - the full on use of anthem like pieces are rare but perhaps they should be used more as society's expectations of brands and brand tribes increase.
Years ago, Coke did it with "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing...". They might not have known exactly what they were doing but they tapped into an emotional tactic that articulated the "emotion of us".
GMC was able to do it thanks to Bob Seger's song "Like A Rock". It was an authentic representation of the mentality of a pick up truck owner. The song was written by a native Michigan and it also said something about buying American and supporting America.
But few other brands have tapped into the brand anthem concept. European football teams have anthems. Countries have anthems and so do schools. It's time for brands to consider the emotional bonding power of anthems as well
