Music is an effective method of communication for advertisers, and researchers at N.C. State have compiled a study examining themes that can be employed by advertisers in marketing strategies.

Researchers at N.C. State performed an analysis of hit songs from the last 50 years to determine the musical trends that appeal most to customers.

Due to an increased demand by advertisers to investigate the role of music in marketing, the researchers analyzed music from 1960-2009.

The researchers will be publishing the paper entitled “All You Need is Love? Communication Insights from Pop Music’s Number-One Hits” in the Journal of Advertising Research.

David Henard, a professor in business management, said he was intrigued by the role that music has played in advertising, and he wanted to see whether there were specific themes in music that were successful.

“We can look to music to see if there were communication themes among highly successful songs that were consistently used. We then looked at the number one hits from Billboard for the past 50 years and conducted a textual analysis of them,” Henard said. 

The basis for the study is to conclude whether there is a set of themes present in music that can be used to break through the various types of advertising and grab people’s attention, Henard said.

The study found that themes typically varied during the course of the 50-year-period, with themes such as rebellion, angst and pain being a large part of the 1960s, Henard also said.

“I think we can use popular music as an advanced barometer of what’s going on in society, what people are thinking about, what they’re looking at. And it gives us a clue on what’s going on in people’s lives right now,” Henard said.

In addition, Henard said that going into the study, the anticipation was to find themes such as love and war. However, the results showed themes that were closer to a nuanced form of love or war.

“Relationship breakups were one of the themes, and the interesting thing about breakups is that it was seen consistently throughout all 50 years, and the theme is a constant that is always present in music,” Henard said.

Henard said  the study has generated interest in the scientific community, where science reporters are trying to explain why certain types of music are being listened to, and the differences during the course of time.

“Love was a big theme throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s, but in the ‘90s and 2000s it almost disappeared and was replaced by harsher, more painful things,” Henard said, “Many scientific reporters are making cultural commentaries on the reasons behind it.” 

Henard said in order to be more successful, advertisers need to find themes that resonate with the emotional aspects of people’s lives, and utilize that theme throughout their marketing.

Christian Rossetti, a professor of operations and supply chain management and co-author of the paper, said doing the project was very enjoyable and looking at songs from the past 50 years was very interesting.