Give Them the Time of Day
The following post was contributed by DMX music designer Jim Fisher.
Though we generally create a single signature sound for a company, or brand, we often create multiple tracks of that sound to reflect the different needs of a business or its customers during different parts of the day or even different days of the week. Choosing elements by tempo, lyrics or instrumentation, for example, we can alter the sound to suit what’s going on in the business at different times while staying consistent with the brand.
Sometimes in a hospitality or hotel environment they will have a morning sound when people are checking out that is a little more frantic or fast-paced when they want people to move along. Their evening sound is more mellow, relaxed, with kind of a cool-down feel to it, with maybe an afternoon sound that is somewhere in between. Some hotels have an 8AM to noon clock and then an 8PM to 4AM clock, both specifically designed to serve their needs during those particular times.
A lot of restaurants will have a happy hour sound or a lounge sound which generally picks up the tempo as the time goes along and it will shift. They call it “day parting” where they’ll have one sound during one part of the day and so forth that progresses throughout the day. Some have multiples time segments, not just AM/PM. It can be really specific as to when that sound can change. What makes up that sound can change too, like more upbeat or more instrumentals, to make the sound reflect whatever it is they want the environment to feel like at that time.
It’s this ability to target the sound for different times and needs specific to a business that can give it an edge over its competitors that depend on satellite radio or packaged sounds that are generically designed. The needs of a restaurant are different from the needs of a specialty retail store and so on so one size does not fit all. We’re able to design programs that fit.
Related posts:
- How We Design Music for Business
- The Design Process
- Sound Innovation and Branding
- Designing Music for the Paris Hotel
- The Design Process
Learn more about DMX Services.
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This article raises a lot of valid points. I have found that stores that generally have more control over their radio tend to have better service which leads to happier customers, and furthermore with this control over the music that plays in store, gives the store a unique identity. I also agree that having certain hours that they play different styles of music is very important in different businesses. Your example of a hotel is a great example in that if they were playing heavy metal in the morning, instead of the usually soft adult contemporary music, I would believe they do not care about the customers as much.
Comment by Rebecca Albertson — September 24, 2009 @ 1:19 pm
This seems like quite an interesting idea that could change the strategy establishments use when they are selecting different types of music for different times of the day, and even parts of the week. Being able to have a program to do that would be pretty cool.
Comment by Peter O'Sullivan — September 24, 2009 @ 10:18 pm
I really like this idea of having different types of music for different times of the day, and even week. It’s a great way to look at how peoples moods are and what they need at different times. Having a program that can quickly change over as time progresses is a huge bonus for any merchant.
Comment by shey — September 25, 2009 @ 9:10 pm
It sure is annoying having to always switch over to other stations because the tempo doesn’t feel right or because of commericials. This sounds like it’s a very fresh idea that allows you the oppurtunity to have it automatically start picking up it’s tempo.
Comment by Corey — September 28, 2009 @ 5:14 am