When fear sells – how negative audio marketing drives brand engagement

Playing to positive emotions and pleasant experiences drives consumer engagement, yes. But when markets are becoming increasingly saturated, brands are finding that playing to their audiences’ negative emotions, particularly through audio marketing, can provoke a deeper, more memorable response.

The use of negative sounds in marketing is an unconventional but highly effective strategy that taps into a primal part of our brain.

Just like traditional marketing aims to sell you a solution to a problem you didn’t know you had, fear-based marketing is out to protect you from a fear you didn’t know threatened you. The use of negative sounds in marketing is an unconventional but highly effective strategy that taps into a primal part of our brain, driving engagement and influencing purchasing decisions in ways more traditional methods of marketing can’t match.

The psychology behind negative sounds

Ranging from the mildly annoying to downright unsettling, negative sounds are unique. They trigger emotional responses that are hardwired into our systems. Brands can harness these sounds strategically, evoking a strong reaction and compelling consumers to act. It’s easy to get wrong, but when used in the right way, they can make your brand stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Examples of negative audio marketing

Irritation

Spotify’s free subscribers frequently have their listening disrupted every thirty minutes by adverts deliberately designed to irritate. It’s intentional – they want you to pay for the service that’s sublimely advert-free. As of 2023 free users generated $361 million in ad revenue, but paid users generated a staggering $2.96 billion.

To an extent, the strategy works – 40% of Spotify’s subscribers are paid members, 239 million to be exact. Although they may want to dial up the annoying interruptions, as it’s a figure that’s steadily been declining since 2019.

Danger!

In a campaign that ran in cinemas, Volkswagen used the sound of high-pitched screeching to simulate a car crashing. The message was “Don’t text and drive”, and the visceral sound left audiences feeling very uncomfortable.

In Hong Kong the brand went one step further, equipping a cinema with location-based broadcasting, to simultaneously send a mass text message to everyone in the room, just as the car crashed. Needless to say, it had a lasting effect on the moviegoers.

Fear of loss

Sometimes it’s the absence of sound that grabs the attention. Guinness’s “Empty Chair” advert plays on our emotions with its hauntingly sparse sound design. The empty room and echoing, distant noises of the crowd convey loneliness, and pack an emotional punch for the ultimately positive payoff. The old bait and switch – using negative emotions to strengthen a positive message.

Alarming

Whether it’s using emergency service sirens to convey the threat of an accident or death, or using the sound of phone alarms to startle an audience, alerts like this snap us to attention and provoke a physical response. These are sounds that we are programmed to respond to, so using them in a marketing campaign is a sure-fire way to get your message across.

Unhealthy

Brands like Nike and Adidas have used the sound of laboured breathing and pounding heartbeats to sell their products to those scared of losing their physical fitness. What’s more, pairing visuals of drugs, cigarettes and alcohol with the right kind of sound can hammer home a bodily response that’s far more powerful than using words alone.

Minor mishaps

Of course, not every fear-based audio cue needs to be dramatic or life-threatening to be effective. Sometimes the sounds that unsettle us most are the ones that hint at inconvenience, expense or embarrassment. Think the grinding whirr of a car engine failing to start, the hiss and click of a broken boiler, or the sharp crack of a glass smashing on a kitchen floor. These small sonic triggers tap into real, relatable frustrations – the kind that make us wince instinctively. Used cleverly, they can prompt action just as effectively as sirens or screeches.

The impact of negative sound

Negative audio marketing may not seem like the most obvious choice, but it is a powerful one. By creating a sense of urgency, adverts like this can lead to quicker purchasing decisions – the threat of danger removes any feet-dragging consumers may have.

The real skill lies in developing long-term brand loyalty off the back of these marketing tactics.

By making the audience feel uncomfortable, brands have an opportunity to present themselves as the solution to their problems and therefore build strong connections. These types of sounds don’t just disrupt and grab attention – they last a long time, reinforcing the marketing message long after the advert has ended.

The real skill lies in developing long-term brand loyalty off the back of these marketing tactics. It’s ok to shock and scare your audiences into purchasing, but only if what you’re selling genuinely resolves the fear you’ve stirred. Without that resolution, the tactic quickly feels manipulative. The brands that get it right provoke a reaction then immediately follow through with reassurance, reliability and a relevant solution. That’s how discomfort turns into trust, and a fleeting emotional hit can turn into a long-term brand relationship.

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