Coca Cola and The Power of Music

Coca-Cola is a company that understands the power of music in persuading their target audience. It is a brand with a lot of personality that does not adapt to the trends but creates them. 

Coca-Cola has built an image that is very easy to associate with music. Throughout the years, the image of several personalities in the world of music has been used for promotion, a sonic logo has been created, has carried out several campaigns in close connection with music, and a special tab dedicated to music is currently found on the Coca-Cola website.   

The first figure that appeared on a bottle of Coca-Cola was none other than the singer Hilda Clark in 1900. Also, for the campaign Things go better with Coke (1963), several pop singers performed on the radio a brand hymn, while for the campaign I’d like to buy the world a coke, a special musical theme is also created to be integrated into TV and radio spots, which, being frequently broadcasted, have led the song to become an  international hit. 

The song above was used in Coca-Cola's 2015 TV spots, which have been part of the 129-year anniversary campaign Kiss Happiness, Let's Eat Together or Happy Moves. Although it has a young spirit, it addresses to several age categories, including home and family-related messages. For Kiss Happiness and Share a kiss, released in 2015, songs have been composed especially for the TV spots. The tracks are identifiable with the Coca-Cola brand and the campaign, so it becomes a means of self-promotion. 

Another example is given by Martin Lindstrom in Brand Sense: Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight and Sound, where he tells about the Always Coca-Cola song he heard in a bar at someone who had it as a ringing tone and then failed to get it out of his mind. The song came out in 1993 and contains one of the Coca-Cola slogans with the greatest impact. By the fact that someone loved the melody so much that he kept it as ringtone, the neighbors, being exposed to the melody, were also exposed to the brand. We associate the song with the brand, with the product, and the first instinct is to enjoy a bottle of Coca-Cola. 

  

Martin Lindstrom goes further to say "Brands can be built by sound". But he thinks the music on websites, pending calls or ringtones are more important than what is heard in spots. However, I think that if the theme of music were not promoted through the spotlight, the impact would not be as big as for Coca-Cola, it would not help people associate the sound with the brand almost instantaneously, as the spots are more accessible, are sometimes viewed accidentally, while sites and call waiting are only accessible by consumer's will. I would place them on an approximately equal level.   

Another way to promote the brand through music is sonic logos, the musical theme that usually accompanies the logo at the end of a spot. These may seem unimportant, but I have noticed while looking for the most relevant ones, that they remain stuck in one's head, and for some brands that have emphasized this, the themes have become a kind of a cover for an identity card. 

The theme of Coca-Cola, as we know it today, came out in 2007 and consists of 5 sounds designed to express happiness. From the official website, I found out that the song actually appeared in 2006 in the Happiness Factory campaign through the spot and movie. Trying to create a sonic identity like McDonald's or Intel, they used the song in the campaign, transforming it from 15 notes into a 5. To print it in the minds of consumers, Coca-Cola promoted this theme with the help of several internationally acclaimed artists with specially composed songs that highlight the 5 notes that have now become Coca-Cola's identity.   

The success of Coca-Cola or McDonald's brands is not especially due to music. By correctly and creatively combining the elements that can be part of an advertising spot, a unique and representative formula is created. What these brands have in common are adaptability, innovation and sensual branding. 

Through their spots, they apply the theory of neurological science, whereby an individual can more easily retain information if other senses are involved. Spots create stories about the brand and the music sustains and complements them to the level where, if we are exposed to the song used, instinctively the image of the brand comes up.   

This article is a result of the passion with which I have studied Communication and Public Relations and the fact that I have always tried to show to my acquaintances that music really has a great impact on us. I also tried to convince them that music is an essential tool in promoting a brand. Finally, my license was based on this topic, but obviously not on the Coca-Cola brand. 

The idea of the article came up while I was enjoying a glass of Coca-Cola zero. However, do not follow my example; Coca-Cola is not a healthy drink.  

Images: 1, 2, 3

Don't forget to follow for more