Private question for bobbie7-ga ,

Hi Martin!

I'm glad I got it right this time.

Here is a copy of my findings.

?A study entitled The Influence of Background Music on the Behaviour
of Restaurant Patrons by Ronald E. Millman (published in the Journal
of Consumer Research ? Volume 13, 1985) found:

1. Patrons waiting in line for a period of time to be seated were more
likely to leave if fast tempo music was being played

2. The average bar bill for those dining in the restaurant was $30.36
when slow music was played and 29% less ? $21.62 ? when fast music was
played. The total bill average foer meal and drinks was $55.82 with
slow music ? $48.62 with fast. The fast music had thus had a negative
effect on the very profitable bar tab.

3. The study said, "it would appear that inappropriately loud or
ill-suited music could create an avoidance condition."

4. A different study was cited, saying that people spent significantly
less time in supermarkets with loud music than with soft music (Smith
and Curnow, 1966).

5. In a 1982 study, Millman found that, compared to fast-tempo music,
the slow-tempo gackground music produced a significantly slower pace
of in-store traffic flow and a significantly greater sales volume.?

Source: CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/home/noise/whatyoucando.html


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The Power Of Music And Its Influence On International Retailbrands And
Shopper Behaviour: A Multi Case Study Approach
By Michael Morrison - Monash University 

Here are four interesting case studies:

--------------------
Victoria?s Secret
--------------------

?The atmosphere of the shopping environment can influence customer
attitudes in relation to perceptions of the overall quality of the
store in terms of the uniqueness of the product, service levels and
price (Baker, Grewal and Parasraman, 1994). Victoria?s Secret is a
good example of this phenomenon. Within seconds of entering the store,
you can feel a sense of elegance and style.?

(..)

The in-store music provided a perception of richness and grandeur.
Since playing classical music in their stores, there is the belief
that this has contributed to a prestigious store atmosphere, leading
to a customer perception of higher quality in both merchandise and
service.?


-----------------
FAO Schwarz
-----------------

?The store is composed of specific themes, each with its own unique music?

(..)


?Each area demonstrates the power of music in creating the right mood,
excitement and atmosphere. For example, the music playing in the
Barbie section is up-tempo pop, dance and swing, creating a feeling of
fun, fantasy and happiness, whereas, the music in the Star Wars
department is awesome and dramatic - one can?t help but be spellbound
and enthralled. The music drives customers into the store. The music
plays a big part in catching peoples? attention.?


------------
NikeTown
------------

?When you enter the world of Nike you are exposed to total branding.
The Nike brand is everywhere, on door handles, elevator buttons, floor
tiles, store fittings, video screens, interactive kiosks and even the
music.?
?Nike stores are multi-sensory retail environments that excite the
senses with lighting effects, video monitors, gigantic pictures of
famous athletes, interactive displays and powerful music.

?The in-store music is high on energy, vibrant, proactive and
uplifting. The current music definitely boosts the store?s environment
and helps to attract the younger urban customer.?


------------------
Borders Books
------------------

?The focus at Borders Books is aimed at maximising the amount of time
people stay in the store. On entering a Borders Book store you
immediately get the impression that you are invited to relax.?

?The in-store music is designed to maximise customer visit time.
Research has shown that if shoppers stay longer and travel more slowly
throughout the store, they are likely to purchase more.?

?The tempo of the music at Borders Books is slow and relaxed. The
tempo of the music tended to alter customer perception of elapsed time
in the store. This finding supports Milliman?s study (1982) that found
that the tempo of music can effect shoppers? pace of movement around
the store. Shoppers and sales associates indicated that the soothing
nature of music also helped to facilitate discussions about products
and services.?

Monash University: Michael Morrison
http://130.195.95.71:8081/WWW/ANZMAC2001/anzmac/AUTHORS/pdfs/Morrison.pdf 


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?Car industries were the first ones to realise the potential of sound,
and Japanese car builders dedicated a very special care until they
could manage their car doors' shutting sound just like a Mercedes
Benz'.?

Volkswagen

?Back in 1998, there was a Volkswagen's ad that had written on black
letters over a white surface the word ['pfemf]. This is the sound of
the Passat's doors shutting. And it immediately remembers us of
precision, credibility and quality.?

Braun

?BRAUN makes hairdryers and shavers. The company managed to make more
silenced hairdryers, stressing their value. But they didn't try to do
the same thing in relation to the shavers. According to BRAUN, clients
were not sure if it shaved properly.?

IBM

? IBM made the same mistake in the investigation towards the abolition
of a typewriter's operational noise. The main goal was to reduce noise
at the offices, making them more pleasant places to work in. The 6750
model was released in the 70's but the clients didn't like it; they
didn't know whether the machine was working or not. So, IBM inserted
Piezo electrical discs to reproduce that functional noise. This was
the first product including artificial sound ever, a sound that
imitated the one they took so long to eradicate.?

?In some products, such as video or digital sound recorders,
operational noises have to be as close to non-existent as possible, in
order to interfere not with the recorded sound.?

Pfemf: The sound of objects by Gonçalo Falcão
http://www.ip.pt/flirt/arquivo/f_julho/julho/textos/pfemf.htm


Happy Holidays,
Bobbie

Hi Martin!

Perhaps this information might be useful for you:
Nokia Case Study:

Nokia has succeeded in lending personality to its products, without
even giving them names.

Nokia Brand Personality
?As the focus is on customer relationships, the Nokia personality is
like a trusted friend. Building friendship and trust is at the heart
of the Nokia brand. And the human dimension created by the brand
personality carries over into the positioning strategy for the brand.?

Nokia Product Design

?Product design is clearly critical to the success of the brand, but
how does Nokia manage to inject personality into product design??

?The large display screen, for example, is the "face" of the phone.
Nokia designers describe it as the "eye into the soul of the product".
The shape of phones is curvy and easy to hold. The faceplates and
their different colors can be changed to fit the personality,
lifestyle, and mood of the user. The soft key touch pads also add to
the feeling of friendliness, expressing the brand personality. Product
design focuses on the consumer and his needs, and is summed up in the
slogan, "human technology."

Source: Branding Asia
http://www.brandingasia.com/cases/nokia.htm

Best regards,
Bobbie

Nokia Design

?On the product design side there is the pleasing, rounded form with
its fashionably understated charm ? an often copied elliptical body
with no hard corners or edges to stick in the lining of pockets,
buttons positioned according to importance and frequency of use and
innovations like exchangeable chimes and graphics, games and
schedulers where Nokia led the field. The result was always the same:
a mobile phone that consumers could relate to personally and
stylistically and was useful to them. Frank Nuovo calls it ?romancing
the phone?. Nuovo and the Nokia team has succeeded in what is seldom
achieved: satisfying consumers' demands by producing design that
delivers what it promises. Its high degree of functionality (e.g.
self-explanatory simplicity of the user interface, limitation of
functions to essentials, durability, ergonomic quality and being fun
to use) is the self-evident basis for products that crystallise
contemporary taste. They remain ageless, even if preferences change,
because they are emblems of the period in which they were designed.?
http://en.red-dot.org/195.html

Do Descriptive Menu Labels Influence Restaurant Sales and Repatronage?

? In a six-week field experiment involving 140 customers, descriptive
menu labels (such as "Grandma's zucchini cookies" or "succulent
Italian seafood filet") increased sales by 27% and improved attitudes
towards the food, attitudes toward the restaurant, and intentions
toward repatronage. Such labels did not, however, directly increase
the amount a person is willing to pay for the labeled item. If
descriptive labels are used sparingly and appropriately, they can
improve sales and post-consumption attitudes of the food and the
restaurant.?

Consumer Psychology
http://www.consumerpsychology.net/insights/content/descriptivemenusintro.html

Full Article
http://www.consumerpsychology.net/insights/pdf/restlabels.pdf