The role of music in commercial television advertising

Résumé du document

This thesis is written for the Bachelor of Business Studies final. It is a fully literature- based thesis so only literature research is involved. This thesis is about the role of music in commercial television advertising. To reach a satisfying solution to this problem, the position of the theories about music in commercial television advertising compared with theories of atmospherics in general were investigated. And also how, when and why music works in commercial television advertising has been examined.

The results of the literature search and research can be summarized as a combination of different articles with different contents. By structuring the thesis like this, a new and orderly thesis is formulated.

The position of the atmospheric music within atmospherics in general is very important. Music helps to shape the overall atmosphere in commercial television advertising and therefore has an important and inevitable role within atmospherics in general. Characteristics of atmospherics like quality perception, influence of emotional state, atheistic etc. also count for music. Models and theories like the Mehrabian-Russell model and Scherer‘s theory can also be applied at music while they were designed for atmospherics in general.

Music has two main effects: enriching the key message and influencing the emotional state. The emotional state is a complicated phenomenon. By influencing the emotional state several sub-effects occur. These effects are recall, rejection or acceptance of media claims, level of attention, brand attitude and product choice.

Extraits

[...] Since that time mere exposure did not lead to liking, which apparently depended on whether the target product, a pen, was presented with liked versus disliked music. The commercial‘s impact appeared to be more influential in its appeal when presented with musical background as opposed to product information. He concluded that through classical conditioning, the product becomes associated with the positive feelings of liked music. All the effects and sub-effects of music are shown in figure In this figure the relationship has not been drawn. [...]

[...] That is, shoppers react better to the combination of either a highly arousing scent with highly arousing music or a low arousal scent with low arousal music than they do to either mismatch combination. Here, the mismatch in the arousing nature of the two elements may contribute to perceptual inappropriateness causing systematic changes in customer comfort level (Babin, Chebat & Michon 2004). The appearance of an unfamiliar element within an assumed as normal arrangement, or an element that takes on an unusual character, can cause it to be viewed as less typical perhaps even evoking a perceptual contrast. Therefore a match between stimuli is essential. [...]

[...] Level of attention 4. Acceptance/ rejection Figure The effects of music Music is often used in advertising to enrich the key message and may be the single most stimulation component in a commercial. It is perceived as a potential peripheral cue used to positively arouse the consumer‘s emotional state. As stated by Alperts & Maltz (2003): —Music not only enhances recall for a product or an advertisement through an evoked image, but it may evoke moods, feelings, emotions and behaviors“. [...]

[...] To give a proper and reliable answer to this problem statement first the four research questions must be answered. What is the position of the theories about music in commercial television advertising compared with theories of atmospherics in general? In chapter two it is shown that a lot of theories and examples about atmospherics in general can be applied at the specific atmospheric music. Theories about the occurrence of stereotypes and the importance of familiarities for the consumer also count for the use of music in commercial television advertising. Quality perception has also a meaning in music. [...]

[...] High levels of attention are thought to restrain the association of emotional appeals with advertised brands. Extreme emotional cues simply focus the awareness of potential customers on the informative aspects of a persuasive communication. The obtained affect does not directly alter brand attitudes. Rather greater persuasion may occur with either negative or positive presentations due to the heightening of attention (Bozman et al, 1994). The likelihood that a host of behaviors may be performed appears to be enhanced by positive moods. [...]