[B-SIDE Podcast] The science of sound: using music in marketing��

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You are what you listen to. By analyzing the songs that are on heavy rotation on your playlist, music solutions agency Homonym can give brands a picture of who you are: from the shampoo that you use on your head to the shoes that you wear on your feet.����

“To us, sonic branding, or the sound part of your branding, is very important because that’s the only way you can make [people] feel. … Audio makes you feel,” said Mike L. Constantino, founder of Homonym.��

In this B-Side episode, he explains to������ý��reporter Brontë H. Lacsamana how audio data can help brands reach their target market using as an example Nissan’s 2020 X-Trail ad campaign.����

Based on Homonym’s research, the marketing push for the X-Trail, described on the Nissan website as “an SUV with muscular styling,” used “Money��for��Food” by petite singer-songwriter Barbie��Almalbis��in its spots.����

Homonym was founded in 2016 as a one-stop shop for artists who need advice on monetizing their art, and agencies that want an endorser to sing or become a musical brand ambassador.����

“They call us,” said Mr. Constantino.����

TAKEAWAYS��

��Visuals make you think. Music makes you feel.����

Audio data can help brands, and agencies and event organizers connect to their target market.��

Homonym commissions studies that provide insight into how the music habits of Filipino consumers relate to their age, gender, and lifestyle and brand preferences.����

This data helps build a sonic identity, which involves brand harmonization and audience tuning — fancy words that mean determining a brand’s essence and tuning it with the tastes and preferences of the target market. After that, music psychology and even neuroscience come into play to determine the right fit.����

This is how Homonym landed on Ms.��Almalbis��as the ideal artist for the Nissan X-Trail campaign, which targeted females of a certain age group.����

“Every human that was ever born, from 14 to 24 years old — that’s when they develop their personality, their identity. And music is a big part of that,” said Mr. Constantino.����

Music makes an indelible mark on females at age 11 to 13; for males, the age is 14 to 16. “It [music from that time period] will elicit physiological effects: you’ll be sweating, you’ll be tapping your feet.”������

A ‘music first’ approach��makes production more efficient.����

“In the Philippines, people consider music last,” said Mr. Constantino. “They’re going to do a storyboard, they have the talents and everything in place, and then they’re going to give it to the scorers and say,��lagyan��mo��ng��music [put in the music].”����

This is music curation, which Homonym can provide. But the agency wants more clients to consider sonic branding or putting music first.��

With music setting the mood and tone, the��production��team can make quicker��creative��decisions.��

“Sometimes you have to hold their hand and take them through the journey because they’re not used to it. But here’s the thing — after they learn about the ‘music first’ approach, they never look back. They appreciate and incorporate it typically in the way they ideate moving forward,” he said.����

‘Music influencing is a thing’��

“Publishers — meaning rights owners or labels who own rights to songs — view us as an added ally to help them get their music out and get more projects, especially these days when it’s hard to get licensing going,” said Mr. Constantino.����

“Music influencing is a thing,” he added. “It’s an entirely new community that a brand can tap.”��

This B-Side episode was recorded remotely on Aug. 19. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez��and Sam L. Marcelo.

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