When you play music during exercise, it’s most probably upbeat in lyrics and tempo.

The psychology behind this is relatively straightforward.

Music lights up areas of your brain that cause you to feel emotions depending on the memories, feelings and new experiences you have with a certain song.

Music has the ability to make you feel the highs of highs and even the lows of lows, which makes it an important, powerful tool for customer engagement.

When it comes to the best brand experience, a few companies stand out from the crowd.

These companies maintain several elements to engage and interact with their audience.

For many big name brands, music is one of the most diverse, useful elements that build the best brand experience for their customers.

According to the IFPI Global Music Report (2016) “The global music market achieved a key milestone in 2015 when digital became the primary revenue stream for recorded music, overtaking sales of physical formats for the first time.”

If the report tells us anything, it’s that Millennials place a lot of importance on their ability to access new music, even if it’s as a part of a brand experience.

But who are the companies that use digital music as part of their brand experience strategy?

Many companies may not realise this, but they have the ability to evolve their brand by providing free legal music.

Companies like Uber and Starbucks already connect with their customers by offering free and legal music.

The 2016 Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) statistics have showed that music streaming services have doubled from $23 million to $46 million, which now gives digital music the main hold of the market share, accounting for 62%. Australia has also seen the revenue for recorded music increase 3.2% globally, according the the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. This is an impressive climb in supporting artists and the music industry overall. It is no surprise that these 5 companies have used streaming services as part of their brand experience.

Companies like Honda and Dropbox are taking centre stage in their industries by integrating music into their brand engagement model.

By introducing musical elements like playlists and music communities, these companies are gaining Millennial momentum. Music streaming services have logged that “sponsored listening resulted in a 12% lift in brand awareness and a 30% lift in purchase intent for advertisers” (according to Fast Company).

Have you ever caught yourself humming the theme song to a TV show, ad or even just a new song? Plenty of brands have figured this out and are using music in their marketing campaigns for better customer retention solutions.

There are several key elements to successful brand engagement, from simply hiring the right staff, to acting on your worst feedback. The world’s leading business people, entrepreneurs and marketers give advice better than anyone else, so scroll down to see what their tips are when it comes to brand engagement and retaining your customers.

There’s no denying that music has an incredible effect on advertising sales. With 98% of people across the globe reporting that they listen to music, there is a big opportunity for companies to start building a brand with music.

The changing landscape of marketing means that customer engagement has taken a hit leading into the first couple of months in 2016. Also affecting the level of engagement is the rise of the Millennial and what marketers understand in order to connect with them. To  understand what it is you should be doing to enhance your brand, it’s important to first understand why customer engagement dropped this year.

Here are the top 4 reasons that brands are seeing less customer engagement in 2016:

Luxury Swiss watchmaker Raymond Weil once again is using its passion for music as the creative centrepiece of its collaboration with Universal Music Group and the BRIT Awards.

Music has always been an essential ingredient for Raymond Weil, and has been involved within the music industry for over three decades. The Swiss watchmaker is renowned for coining the phrase “Raymond Weil composes its timepieces the way musicians compose their chef d’oeuvres.”

This unique collaboration with UMG will be offering consumers a bespoke digital music streaming service. By aligning the brand so closely to the music industry in every shape and form - from exciting marketing campaigns to music sponsorship, this brand understands how the #PowerOfMusic can drive brand affinity with its consumers.