See with your ears
By creating sensorial experiences that pull the senses in various directions, you enable your event to burn itself into the collective memory of those in attendance. Humans, like magpies, are drawn to all things shiny and colourful so when we receive a brief or knock heads around an idea, we’re hard-wired to think immediately of the visual. But what if we ignored the visual as a starting point and focussed on the sound?
Of the five senses (or six if you’re Haley Joel Osment), hearing has the potential to evoke an instant emotional response the fastest. If someone appears from behind a door and shouts BOO, you’ll jump before you’ve seen them. That’s because hearing/sound is processed faster by your brain than sight. Our mood, heart rate and mindset can be altered instantly according to the environment around us, with sound being a primary factor. It’s rich territory, and when approached in the right way, can enhance your experience’s recall.
ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) was the hot content topic a short while ago, and still has a huge draw for fans of the genre who use it to relax, meditate, and, ahem, other purposes, with the general goal to give them goosebumps on their skin or make the hair stand up on the back of their necks. Huge brands have employed it in marketing campaigns, usually accompanied by a crisp visual but with a clear lean towards the sound experience. Nintendo, for example, created a series of ASMR content to prompt people to purchase its Switch console or the latest installment in the Zelda series:
Even though the waves of the summer are washing away, we hope you made some unforgettable memories with your #NintendoSwitch. What #SightsandSounds did you relax with as you played your favorite games during the sunny summer season? Share yours with #MyWaytoPlay. pic.twitter.com/uGN8t1RuZr
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 23, 2019
With aural technology advances coming on in leaps and bounds, the next step, albeit already in existence, more of a refinement really, will be the use of binaural sound experiences. Binaural sound is designed to mimic how we hear things in the real world. What it adds to your experience is sound-led movement and a perception of distance. Pop your headphones in and click the below example to see what we mean:
This isn’t to be confused with surround sound, which uses a multitude of speakers working in unison to create an immersive sound experience without the same field of depth. The issue with binaural sound is that it is a personal experience, only works with headphones. Surround sound is more suitable for a group or larger environment. One amazing example of this was the MOMA Chicago which had a fully dark room with vague projection of a panther’s eyes and mouth which circled the room, mounted speakers followed the animal as it moved around giving the impression of movement.
