Consumers link higher-pitched commercials to healthier food products: study

A team of researchers from NTU Singapore studying how the acoustic and visual composition of advertisements impact perceptions, has found that consumers associate a higher frequency “sonic logo” with healthier food products.

Sonic logos, also termed sogos, are short melodies created to support the marketing of a specific brand.

The study also linked more stimulating visuals in commercials with consumer perceptions that the food product it was advertising was healthier.

Conversely, consumers tended to associate low-pitched sonic logos and commercials with less vivid designs with unhealthy food products.

The NTU study is timely, as global spending on advertisements is expected to increase 12 per cent to over US$795 billion[1] (S$1.1 trillion) by the end of 2022, and the study could aid marketers in selecting the optimal audio-visual elements to best convey their brand identity to consumers.