Advertising is a constant battle for attention. In spite of that, the majority of ads only engage one of our senses – sight. Hearing is equally powerful, but is not equally exploited as a ”means of persuasion”.

But, you probably say, we are surrounded by sounds from commercials. Anyone can testify to an endless stream of jingles and songs that get under our skin making us either happy or really annoyed.  And sure that’s true. But the kind of sounds that most effectively trigger emotions and make us prone to buy, are everyday natural sounds – and they are not as common in advertising.

Which sounds create the strongest emotional responses has been examined by Martin Lindstrom, marketing consultant and author of the bestseller Buyology: Truth and Lies about Why We Buy. To get an uncensored image of our emotional responses he has used an MRI to monitor the brain activity of people listening to various sounds. Not what we think we feel but how we actually feel.  And in terms of creating positive feelings one sound stands out, the sound of a happy baby. So, if you want to sell, do it to the soundtrack of a baby giggling.

That particular sound might not be very useful in all communication. But there are definitely other sounds that can enhance the positive experience of your products and services. Just think primitive responses; feelings and associations that are hardwired in your brain. Sounds that your body already knows the meaning of.  An image of a cold beer accompanied by the sound of pouring liquid makes you more prone to buy than the same beer image with music. And more car buffs get chills down their spine when they see a sports car and hear the perfect purring of an engine, than when they see the same car to the sound of rollicking rock’n’roll.

Sophisticated brain scanning and other medical imaging technologies teach us more about what works in advertising, but so far we’re only at the beginning of what is called neural marketing. And anyone who wants to explore the soundscape has plenty of virgin territory to cover.  Not to mention the possibilities of brand building with our remaining senses: touch, smell and taste.