The right sound can fiercely influence a listener when it comes to food. New research on the power of sound proves you can make a flavor better or worse by using “auditory bait.”
A properly done radio commercial with the right sound can send a consumer in a craving beeline to your restaurant or grocery store. The listening experience not only changes the way we perceive taste, it changes how much food and drink we purchase.
The majority of our food behavior is “heard” without our conscious minds knowing it. This new research anchors the idea that the food or beverage industry will want to use sound and radio as a way to increase sales and gain share of mind. We all know music can set the mood. Now it’s a verified fact that sound will affect the perception of flavor and the way a customer rates their food experience. It will also affect bar sales.
“Even without your knowing it, the music that a food retailer or restaurateur plays can influence what you buy. The tempo of the music that’s played in a store can influence your purchase decisions. Slow music makes grocery store shoppers slow down; that means they spend more time in the store, and this translates to more revenue per customer—a pretty awesome result....We are so sure we’re in charge all the time, but in fact we can be manipulated like puppets.”
Consider how powerful sound is when consumers are sitting in rush hour traffic. They are listening to the Radio thinking about their evening dinner or a night out on the town. In one fell swoop, you can change a listener’s destination by supplying them with tasty food sounds that hit their subconscious and get them to come straight to you.
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