We used to live in a golden age of ad jingles. Some brands, like Mentos, Kit Kat, Folgers or Oscar Mayer, are so popular that just hearing their names is enough to get their song stuck in your head for the day.
Mr. Clean is trying to appeal to a new generation of consumers by bringing back its iconic jingle.
Hefty has an updated version of its product, which has not been available for purchase for 30 years. In relatively recent history, Meow Mix and Bagel Bites have also made similar moves.
While jingles are not as popular as they once were, there are still some companies that use them in their advertising. Some of the more notable examples include Nationwide and McDonald’s. However, most jingles these days are found on daytime or late-night TV commercials from smaller brands, such as J.G. Wentworth, Kars4Kids, and FarmersOnly.com.
Nostalgia is Indeed Powerful
Haley Steed, a specialist in online marketing, believes that the recent popularity of Pokemon Go and reboots of movies like Ghostbusters is due to the fact that they are appealing to people’s nostalgia.
The author also mentions that nostalgia can have a different appeal for different age groups. Some younger people might look back at old ads with reverence, while older people might think back on their youth with fondness.
Nostalgia is a powerful marketing tool because it allows people to escape the mundane reality of their lives and transport themselves to a time when they were younger or to a romanticized version of the past. This escapism is what good marketing does: it transports its audience to another place or time and then encourages them to buy a product or service.
But beyond simply tapping into fond memories, here are nine reasons marketers shouldn’t dismiss the humble jingle as irrelevant in the digital era:
Reasons Jingles are Powerful Marketing Tool
1. Audio is an Effective Marketing Tool
If you are looking for something other than jingles for your advertising, you can use pop songs like Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister.”
Young said that songs that are familiar and have an emotional connection are easier to associate with a product, transferring the feelings and emotions of the song to the brand.
McCambley said that he thinks there will be a resurgence of audio branding or sound trademarking in mobile, including tones or notes that consumers immediately associate with brands.
2. Jingles are Yet Another Recognizable Branding Element
That’s because audio can also drive consumer recall.
In other words, a jingle is like a brand’s audio logo. It’s a short, unique clip that helps people identify a brand.
Jingles which contain messages such as brand promise, heritage and consistency are the most effective, said Scott Davis, who is the chief growth officer at strategic consultancy Prophet.
3. Jingles, Like Pop Music, are Easy to Remember
The only element of branding that can get stuck in our heads is a jingle.
Michal Strahilevitz, an associate professor of marketing at Victoria University, said that jingles are still effective for the same reasons they were in the past. He explained that whether it’s a jingle or a pop song, if it’s catchy and has cute lyrics, people will remember it if it’s played often enough.
And, boy, do they.
I’ve never needed to replace my windshield, but the jingle for the Massachusetts-based company Giant Glass is stuck in my head irrevocably. I can’t recite it because I have such an affinity for windshield repair, I can recite it because I watched too much television as a kid and every commercial break during Red Sox games led off with that song,” said Ryan Coons, a copywriter at creative agency Struck. “It’s the same reason I can swear up and down that I can’t stand Maroon 5, but somehow I still know the words to ‘Sugar.’ It has been engineered to get stuck in my head and through endless repetition I’ve been beat into submission.”
According to McCambley, “reach and frequency” is a nicer way of saying “annoying repetition.” Jingles have helped brands capture consumer attention for a long time, even if those consumers leave the room during commercial breaks.
Coons said that their job is to make people remember a brand when they see it on a store shelf. He said that jingles are the most distilled expression of that desire to be remembered, and that they don’t need to be relevant, they just need to be catchy.
Coons went on to say that consumers remember Mr. Clean’s jingle because it’s catchy and easy to remember.
4. Jingles Cut Through Noise
According to Davis, jingles are still an effective way to cut through the noise of our over-saturated, always-on, highly competitive world, while also giving consumers a sense of familiarity and comfort.
It is important for ads to be eye-catching and memorable in order to grab the attention of consumers who are bombarded with advertisements from different brands competing for their attention. This is especially true for video and radio ads, where people are likely to only be listening and not watching the ad. A catchy phrase or jingle at the end of the ad can help it stick in people’s minds.
5. Jingles are Manipulative
According to Shmuli Rosenberg, CEO of marketing and media firm fwd/NYC, jingles are an effective way of embedding messages in the consumer psyche. He should know – he’s launched an entire division dedicated to jingles, and has written and produced several himself, including the Kars4Kids jingle.
He said that when words are put to music, they become more meaningful and powerful. He explained that we teach young children through music and song, and that nursery rhymes help children learn to form sentences. He concluded by saying that using music as a tool is just as powerful now as it has always been.
Jingles are effective because they activate multiple brain lobes simultaneously, noted Brandy Miller of communications firm Creative Technology Services.
The motor center is responsible for processing the rhythm, the auditory center is responsible for processing the sound, the language center is responsible for processing the lyrics, and the limbic system is responsible for processing the overall emotional core of the song. According to her, it’s a powerful recipe.
This is according to Bruce Sanders, consumer psychologist and retail consultant, who wrote “Sell Well: What Really Moves Your Shoppers.” He says that the durability and effectiveness of jingles lies in what media scientists call drumbeats.
According to Sanders, rhythmic elements make claims more credible. He explains that this is because rhyming claims have a soothing effect and the repetition of sounds makes them seem more familiar. Additionally, the rhythm of the claims energizes people, giving them the perception of success.
6. A Jingle Can Become a Major Brand Element
Jingles for some brands have become so well known that people associate the tune with the company as soon as they hear it. In some cases, people may even think of the jingle before they think of the actual brand name.
Some of the most famous jingles are for McDonald’s, Band-Aid, Kit Kat, State Farm, and Toys R Us. As soon as the catchy tunes start playing, listeners immediately recognize the brand.
Branding’s main goal is to improve brand recognition, and jingles work great for creating awareness and improving brand identity.
If customers repeatedly see your brand’s logo, color scheme, and other design elements in different marketing and advertising materials, they will quickly become familiar with your brand.
7. They Can be Used on Different Media
The internet has given rise to a whole new set of marketing opportunities and strategies.
One of the advantages of jingle marketing is that it can be used on various electronic media, including radio and TV, as well as on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
Advertisers can now target specific groups of people with laser precision, and they can do so at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising methods.
Digital marketing is now the preferred method for many advertisers, and it is clear that the internet is here to stay.
The advertising landscape has changed greatly since the birth of the internet. Earlier on in the digital era, radio and TV were the main media for electronic advertising.
Many people relied on TV and radio to get access to information and advertisers were keen to leverage captive audiences on both media to increase brand awareness and drive sales.
The way people consume media has changed over time. Fewer people now rely on radio and TV as their primary sources of information. More people rely on various platforms on the internet to get information. Also, there is a significant increase in on-demand media consumption.
A Quality Logo survey states that the majority of people, 63.1%, watch television jingles. Ranking third, radio jingles follow closely behind with popularity on streaming platforms, such as YouTube and Hulu.
Other ways people watch jingles include: pop-up ads on websites and browsers, music streaming platforms- such as Spotify and Pandora, gaming apps, and in-app ads.
There is also the potential for your jingle to become viral on social media. If it is interesting enough, it could be shared and viewed millions of times, which would significantly increase your brand reach and awareness. This would also result in a large increase in your ROI.
For example, NationWide has created various jingles over the years. One of their most successful jingles is the one they made with Brad Paisley in 2019 – this jingle has been viewed over 9.2 million times on YouTube.
8. They Help Your Brand Stand Apart from the Competition
There are many businesses competing for customer attention in most industries. If customers are not aware of your brand, they will not buy from you. To compete, your brand must make a good first impression and be memorable to customers.
Jingle marketing can help you make your brand more likable, interesting, and relatable, which can help you stand out among your competitors.
9. They are Cost-Effective
Although large companies often spend a lot of money on marketing jingles, you don’t need to spend all of your company’s revenue on making one for it to be successful.
The key to creating successful advertising jingles is to hire a professional composer who can also help write and sing lyrics (or works alongside someone who does). Your marketing team should also be involved in order to come up with jingles that suit your advertising goals. Advertising jingles can be catchy tunes such as popular songs or custom tunes.
This means that Jingles are a good investment because you can use them on multiple platforms for an extended period of time. If necessary, you can update your jingle to stay current and continue to attract potential customers.
Conclusion
Even though the way people consume media has changed, jingle marketing is still effective.
Jingles are appealing and unforgettable. They can help you attain various marketing objectives like constructing awareness, spurring brand recollection and recognition, and escalating sales. They can be utilized on both regular electronic media and various online sites.
Jingle marketing is most successful when working with a professional to produce a high-scoring jingle. For optimal advertising efficiency, follow the principles of repetition, consistency, and frequency.
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