Volume 40, Issue 10 pp. 1965-1985
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Branding with music: How can music contour and tonality enhance perceived brand innovativeness and brand evaluations?

Alice Zoghaib

Corresponding Author

Alice Zoghaib

ISG International School of Business, Paris, France

Correspondence Alice Zoghaib, 1ISG International School of Business, 147 Ave Victor Hugo, Paris 75116, France.

Email: [email protected]

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Jonathan Luffarelli

Jonathan Luffarelli

Montpellier Business School, Montpellier, France

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Stéphanie Feiereisen

Stéphanie Feiereisen

Montpellier Business School, Montpellier, France

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First published: 25 July 2023
Citations: 1

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.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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