Branding with music: How can music contour and tonality enhance perceived brand innovativeness and brand evaluations?
研究发现，在营销传播中使用轮廓不规则或调性不稳定的音乐，能让品牌显得更具创新性，但品牌评价的好坏取决于传播中是否包含创新或喜好信息。
Abstract A large and growing number of brands use music in their marketing communications to influence consumer perceptions. This article offers an answer to how brands can leverage the characteristics of music pieces to convey an innovative image and boost brand evaluations among consumers. The authors bridge prior research in psychology, marketing, and musicology to demonstrate that using music pieces with an irregular contour or unstable tonality in communications can make brands appear more innovative. The difficulty that consumers experience in cognitively processing music pieces with these characteristics (disfluency) mediates these effects. Additionally, this research shows that branding with music that has an irregular contour or unstable tonality can either positively or negatively impact brand evaluations. This is contingent on whether brand communication includes information about brand innovativeness or brand liking. This article identifies the characteristics of music that influence perceived brand innovativeness and brand evaluations and offers a theoretical lens for understanding these effects. It also reveals which brands can benefit from using music pieces with an irregular contour or unstable tonality, as well as when they can benefit from it. Additionally, it provides practical recommendations for music selection.