Crafted the script for this digital experience that Pandora brought to Cannes and beyond. My section on the interactive site has been re-recorded but I was one of the presenters who took this activation IRL on the road across the States, presenting to key clients and top brands. For the script, look further below. For the best experience, break out your good headphones. #soundon

Script for Connection

Ever wonder what’s the first sound we human beings are ever aware of?

It’s this. [SFX: Heart beating] Our mother’s heartbeat. At 90 decibels for 6 months. In this dimension of sound, we’ll explore – CONNECTION.

Sound is one of the first kinds of data your brain processes. That’s because hearing is one of the first senses to develop. Before we even enter the world, we hear it FIRST – through our mother’s body. And if you’ve heard of parents trying to increase their chances of a smarter baby by playing classical music while pregnant.

[MUSIC: Mozart]

Well, it’s no old wives’ tale. Kyung Hee University in Korea did a study that proved that exposure to music during pregnancy increases neurogenesis in the hippocampus of the fetus’s brain and enhances spatial learning ability. Which is to say it doesn’t have to be Mozart. It can also be…

[MUSIC: Ol’ Dirty Bastard]

Yep, it can also be Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Whatever your taste, just keep listening.

Script for Action

Take a moment to notice the sounds around you in your every day life. [SFX: Montage of alarm, kettle whistle, seatbelt beep, elevator bell, etc.]

Sound familiar? Each of these sounds is telling you to do something. In this dimension, we explore – ACTION.

The average person hears roughly one hundred alarms a day. Some are pleasant [SFX: calming alert]. Others, not so much. [SFX: payment chip card alert] That’s reminding you, you just spent money. Your instant reaction is to grab the chip card as fast as you can, quit drawing attention to yourself, and hurry out of the store. No wonder retailers like Trader Joe’s are changing their alerts.

Now that we know sound leads to ACTION, let’s talk about a retail experiment that took place in the UK. You’ll like it, it involves wine. [MUSIC: French Music]

Ah, a shelf of ‘French Wines.’ Next to that, we see a shelf of ‘German Wines’. Well, on the days that French music was playing, 77% of the wines sold were French. OK, French wine, no big surprise there. 

But the days that German music was playing in the background – [MUSIC: German Music] – 73% of wine sold was German. But the most fascinating part of the study is: when asked if they bought the wine because of the music – less than 5% of respondents were even aware that music was playing.

Sure, sound can influence us directly and also on a subconscious level. How’s that for POWER.

Don’t let that power get to your head. At least not before our next dimension. Keep listening.

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