Massive Music

The Challenge

Massive Music, an international creative music agency, sought to explore the effects of
functional fragrance and sonic branding on consumer behavior in retail environments. They
wanted to understand how scent could influence mood and comfort, and enhance social
experiences for shoppers. In addition, Massive Music requested our assistance in testing the
effectiveness of several sonic logos created as part of their sound branding process. They
wanted to know how these logos resonated with consumer's minds and bodies in terms of
emotional engagement and focus.

The Study

We designed a study to investigate how both scent and sonic logos could influence emotional
engagement and relaxation. The study incorporated two components:

1. Scent Experiment: We tested a functional fragrance designed to uplift and improve
   mood in retail spaces. We used physiological measures and EEG to assess the impact
   of the scent on emotional engagement, relaxation, and cognitive activation.
2. Sonic Logo Experiment: We employed Event-Related Potentials (ERP) Analysis to
   measure the brain's response to short sound stimuli, specifically the sonic logos. This
   method allowed us to track real-time auditory processing and assess emotional and
   cognitive responses to each logo.

The key hypotheses included increased emotional engagement, higher focus levels, and
relaxation without heightened stress or arousal.

The Outcome

The study revealed significant findings for both the fragrance and the sonic logos:

• Scent Intervention: The fragrance created a calming and uplifting environment,
  reducing cognitive activation and fostering positive emotions. Participants showed a
  decrease in executive mental activities, such as focus and decision-making (measured
  by increased Theta Frontal activity). There was also an increase in visual processing
  (Beta Posterior activity), leading to heightened relaxation and a reduction in anxiety.
  Overall, the scent successfully elicited more positive engagement and enhanced
  relaxation.
• Sonic Logo Response: Two sonic logos, Sound DNA 1 and Sound DNA 2, were tested
  for their emotional impact. Sound DNA 2 was found to foster greater positive
  engagement, relaxation, and focus, evoking feelings of serenity and calm. In contrast,
  Sound DNA 1 elicited more excitement but less focus, with a higher degree of distress.

Key Results:

• Scent Experiment: Positive engagement and reduced anxiety (subjective feedback),
  increased relaxation, and reduced cognitive activation.
• Sonic Logo Experiment: Sound DNA 2 created positive engagement, relaxation, and
  focus; Sound DNA 1 elicited excitement but less focus and more distress.

This research confirmed the impact of sensory interventions on emotional engagement and
provided valuable insights for Massive Music in refining both their scent and sonic branding
strategies.