How music affects what we buy

Summary

In 'Nudge the Consumer' podcast, Phil Agni explores how music influences consumer behavior with Dr. Adrian North, a psychology expert. They discuss studies showing that music can alter purchase decisions, such as French music increasing French wine sales. The podcast delves into the power of associations and how they affect product perception, the use of music in advertising to enhance recall, and the impact of music on time perception, offering insights that can significantly benefit marketing strategies.

Takeaways

• 🎵 Music can significantly influence consumer behavior, as shown by studies where French or German music in a supermarket affected the sales of wines from those countries.
• 🛒 The type of music played can make consumers three times more likely to purchase a product associated with that music, such as French wine being favored when French music was played.
• 🎶 Music activates certain knowledge in the brain, which in turn raises the salience of related knowledge, potentially guiding attention and behavior towards associated products.
• 🧀 A story about margarine in the 1940s illustrates how changing associations, such as by altering color and packaging, can change consumer perception and sales.
• 🏆 Successful product placement can be enhanced by considering the associations that come with the environment, such as selling cakes on marble instead of wood.
• 🎼 Music in advertising can improve product recall if the music is linked to a feature of the product, making it easier for consumers to remember that feature.
• 🗣️ The narrator's accent or tone in advertisements can affect brand perception, with certain voices being associated with trustworthiness or other desirable traits.
• ⏳ Music can affect the perception of time, with fast music speeding up internal clocks and slow music calming individuals, thus influencing time spent in stores or restaurants.
• 🕺 Unusual music in a gym setting was found to distract people from monitoring the passage of time, leading to inaccurate time estimations.
• 🏆 The principles of music's effect on time perception can be applied to various settings, such as playing unusual music to distract customers in queues or during hold times.
• 🔄 If a business wants to extend the time consumers spend in a location, playing slower and softer music can be an effective strategy.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the 'Nudge the Consumer' podcast?

The 'Nudge the Consumer' podcast focuses on providing valuable insights from the world of behavioral science and consumer psychology, featuring discussions with leading authors, pioneers, and researchers in the industry.

What type of content can listeners expect from the podcast?

Listeners can expect to learn about various topics such as negotiation tactics, simple tricks to get people to respond to emails, and strategies to influence behavior in different settings, all condensed into easy-to-listen-to 20-minute podcasts.

What is Adrian North's professional background according to the podcast?

Adrian North is the head of the School of Psychology at Curtin University and has had an incredible career analyzing how music affects consumers, including the impact of music on purchase behavior and the improvement of radio advertisements.

In Adrian North's study about music and wine purchasing, what was the experimental setup?

The study set up an experiment in a local supermarket with a shelf displaying French and German wines. A music player on the top shelf played either very typically French or German music to analyze the effects of music on wine purchasing decisions.

What were the findings of Adrian North's study on the impact of music on wine sales?

The study found that when stereotypical German music was played, German wine outsold French wine by five bottles to one. Conversely, when French music was played, the ratio was two bottles of German wine to one of French wine, indicating a significant influence of music on consumer choice.

How does music affect purchase behavior according to the theory discussed by Adrian North?

Music affects purchase behavior by activating a small pocket of knowledge in one's head. Due to the densely interconnected nature of the brain, this activation raises the salience of related knowledge, which can guide attention and predispose behavior towards associated products.

What is the concept of 'sensation transference' as discussed in the context of margarine in the 1940s?

Sensation transference refers to the idea that the enjoyment of a product like margarine can be influenced by changing its associations, such as color, smell, and even the music played while consuming it, which can alter people's perception and expectations of the product.

How did Lewis Chessmen's experiment with margarine and butter affect consumer perceptions?

Lewis Chessmen's experiment showed that by changing the color and labeling of margarine to resemble butter, consumers' perceptions of the product changed. They preferred the 'butter' which was actually margarine, demonstrating the power of associations on consumer preferences.

What role does music play in enhancing product associations in advertising, as explained by Adrian North?

Music in advertising can enhance product associations by activating thoughts related to certain features of the product. If the music is clearly linked to a product aspect, it can make it easier for consumers to recall those features, thus improving the effectiveness of the advertisement.

How can the type of music played during radio advertisements influence the perception of the brand's message?

The type of music and the narrator's voice used in radio advertisements can influence the perception of the brand's message by evoking certain connotations. For example, a warm, elderly voice might promote trustworthiness for a bank advertisement, as it activates associated meanings in the listener's mind.

What is the potential impact of music on consumers' perception of time, as discussed by Adrian North?

Music can impact consumers' perception of time by distracting their attention from their internal clock. Unusual or unexpected music can make consumers less aware of time passing, leading to less accurate time estimations, which can be leveraged in various commercial settings.

How did the study involving gym music affect participants' perception of time spent exercising?

The study found that participants exposed to unusual music, such as Country and Western, had a less accurate perception of the time they spent in the gym. The unusual music distracted them, causing them to be less aware of their internal clock and leading to less precise time estimations.

What insights did Adrian North share about the influence of music on consumer behavior in different commercial settings?

Adrian North shared insights on how music can be used to influence consumer behavior in various settings. For example, playing slow music in a restaurant can encourage patrons to stay longer and potentially spend more. In contrast, playing fast music in a supermarket can speed up shopping and reduce browsing time.

If Adrian North could restart his career, what would he do differently based on his current insights?

Adrian North expressed a wish to have acted on the potential of technology to download music to a laptop computer using a paper plate base, indicating a desire to explore the technological applications of music earlier in his career.