How Does 3D Audio Better Communicate and Engage With a Brand Audience?

Following the Sound

My 7 year old daughter experienced a 3D audio ad for the first time. I put the headphones on her and she listened to an ad, produced by SXM Media’s Studio Resonate team, focusing on the forest. The biggest smile crept over her face. “I’m following the sound” was what she told me.

Music and narration isn’t the only thing we hear in audio ads. The experience also lies in the everyday “sound effects” of life. We experience an ad alongside the sound of cars driving by, the coffee maker turning on, and the air conditioner amping up. Good or bad, all of these “invisible” sounds play a part in our emotional connection to an ad. 

Creating harmony amongst the music and narration and sound effects is a tricky thing. Studio Resonate in particular has learned how to artfully harness these by using a technique known as 3D audio.

3D Audio

Tanvi Phadke, Associate Creative Director for SXM Media defines 3D audio as “an art-form of the brain not of the ears”. When we experience 3D audio, we hear it from all angles; left, right, up, down, and all around. Our brain takes over at this point telling us what the sound is as well as where it is coming from. 

My daughter’s experience was designed specifically for her to be transported into the forest by baking the sound design purposefully into the story narrative. 3D audio harnessed the power of her imagination to tell a more compelling and familiar story.

While forest sounds in general are relatable and recognizable, each person hears these sounds differently with their own mental pictures and personal familiarities attached.

By harnessing the power of 3D audio, the brand can create purposefully designed sound that engages with not only the individual but the entire targeted audience as a whole. This kind of immersive experience is how brands can truly engage with their audience in a more “human” way. 

Directly relating to an audience through this immersive experience is a huge brand opportunity. 

A More Immersive Experience

When we think of immersive experiences, we can’t help but think of the senses. How else could my daughter “follow the sound”? That’s not physically possible as sound is everywhere. But what she perceives and understands is what her brain tells her. And what her brain was telling her excited her to the point that she’s asked to hear that ad again and again. And when she asks for it, she can describe it thoroughly.

3D Audio is just one of the ways brands can harness the effectiveness of sensory marketing. 

Tanvi explained that 3D audio, “paints the brand’s world with sound effects.” It puts the audience into the brand’s narrative in a very tangible way. This kind of emotional immersion rarely happens with words alone. 

With our attention span shrinking quickly, brands need to find faster connection points to their consumers. Our eyes have been over-stimulated with visual information and so our minds wander and check out due to sensory overload. Sound is a passive form of engagement. All it asks is for someone not to cover their ears and to let their imaginations take over.

How much more effective would branding be if the audience were asked to relax and be transported into a scene of their own mental creation? 

Creative Ads

Studio Resonate has been working with 3D audio ads for quite awhile now and their understanding of how to utilize experiential sound is top notch. They know that the creative of the ad always comes first. With careful thought process and planning, 3D audio can be used as a beautiful enhancement to the product.

Tanvi goes on to explain, “everybody knows about human hearing. They realize it but don’t really understand its power.” Utilizing 3D audio is a technique to harness that power in a subtle but incredibly effective way. Studio Resonate has grown and learned how to best use these experiential sound techniques. However, “in the end, it’s about the story. 3D audio has to make sense to the story in order to shine through.”

If the creative doesn’t call for it, then it may not be necessary.

What We’ve Always Wanted

Whether we know it or not, an immersive experience is what we want out of our entertainment; even in our advertisements. We want it because it’s been delivered to us that way for years. We just haven’t necessarily been aware.

“3D Audio is a very misunderstood concept,” says Tanvi, “people think it’s this fancy new term, but it’s been there for decades. We just didn’t know it existed because it was woven seamlessly into the entertainment we consume.” 

Think of the last Marvel movie you watched. Was it just about the script? Absolutely not. It was about the fancy computer graphics, the surround sound, and anything else they added to dazzle your eyes and senses. You don’t just watch it. You feel it.

We’re not just listening; we’re experiencing. 

**For more on 3D audio ads, check out what Studio Resonate has been working on. You can also check out their 3D Audio blog here. Part two of my conversation with Tanvi Phadke coming soon.

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