ASMR and Marketing, what a combo!

Have you ever watched a Youtube video and right as you’re getting to the good part, BAM. You’re hit with a loud and obnoxious advertisement. It feels like a slap in the face, and leaves you so annoyed. 

Well lucky for you there’s a new string of advertisements that don’t leave you feeling like that. You may be familiar with the term ASMR, but what about ASMR advertising? How does this particular advertisement strategy captivate the sought-after millennial and Gen Z group?

Before I tell you about the advertising side of it, let’s first define what ASMR is. 

ASMR stands for the Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. This describes the sensation or “trigger” that some people experience when listening to someone whisper, or play with bubble wrap. When you hear those sounds, your brain sends positive feedback out which causes a tingling sensation from the scalp down to the back.

For the marketing people out there, you may be wondering how you can benefit from ASMR advertising. There are four main types of ASMR videos that you can tap into for your advertisements.

  1. Whispering
  2. Crisp Sounds
  3. Personal Attention
  4. Slow Movements

Depending on what you’re trying to sell, you can look to these four main types to help you create an engaging ASMR advertisement. For example, if you want to create an advertisement for a new flavor of soda, using the “crisp sounds” type would be the right direction to go to. Who doesn’t like that crisp sound of a carbonated beverage being opened for the first time?

Are you still a bit unsure what I am talking about? You can watch this quick video as an example of whispering ASMR Videos.

Established ASMR creators already use this technique to advertise in their videos. This can help you as a marketer to reach a certain demographic that would be missed out on otherwise.

The demographics for ASMR range between 18-24 college students to help them relax from the busy and stressful lives of being in college. ASMR videos get around 87 million views per month. Those are a lot of views and if you’re able to market to that audience, it could mean a lot of money for you. 

Now how exactly should you go about reaching this audience? Well, you can start by reaching out to the well-established ASMR creators on Youtube to see if you can advertise with them. The next option is creating your own ASMR advertisements.

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Have you seen the ULTRA Pure Gold Super Bowl commercial with Zoë Kravitz? With 100 million people tuned into the Super Bowl, that’s a huge market to advertise to. 

The idea came to the Chief Creative Officer of FCB Chicago who said, “We wanted to be disruptive and thought, Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could give 110 million people the chills at the same time?”

What about Ikea's ASMR videos? In 2017, they started a series called, “Oddly IKEA” where a 25-minute long video showing off their products. Sales rose 4.5 percent in-store and 5.1 percent online during these promotions. I never thought I’d see the day where a furniture store makes ASMR videos, but they know how to use what’s popular and roll with it to increase their sales. 

Companies from Dove chocolates to Gucci have created ASMR commercials, so why haven’t you tapped into this potential yet? Even news outlets have written about ASMR, I recommend you check out ASMR and Its Rise to Fame from Up Your Look Magazine!

ASMR has gotten so popular that there’s even an online university dedicated to teaching the public all about it. They even have a specific tab dedicated to the brands who have made ASMR commercials including the Super Bowl ad, with an analysis to it. This is a great source material for you to learn from and apply to your own products. The Super Bowl ad did such a great job that one of the biggest ASMR content creators commented on it in the Chicago Tribune. If they can be successful with ASMR advertising, then so can you!

“I thought it was awesome. They hit the nail on the head. You can tell they did their research: They had the binaural microphones, had her whispering back and forth. They had tapping, nice sounds. They definitely watched content and had done their research on what ASMR is supposed to be. They, of course, blew it up, made it Hollywood, used a big budget, and so it was very cool. They were accurate.”

In a time that’s full of stress, now seems to be the best time to jump on board and use ASMR for advertising. Since most people experience a positive reaction through ASMR, it makes them feel more connected to the brand or product that’s being advertised. 

According to Psychology Today, a study done by Fredborg, Clark, & Smith 2017 they found that people who experience a positive reaction to ASMR are more open to new experiences as well as an increase in the positive emotional states Poerio, Blakey, Hostler, & Veltri, 2018. This is important to know for reeling in people to buy your products.

Since ASMR advertising is new, the marketing teams have to think outside of the box and find new ways to advertise their products in such a way that brings their product to life through hitting the key sensory factors and engage the audience in a way that advertisements haven’t done before. 

It’s not just about the sounds that create the physical response, but it’s also about the connection that the consumer and the creator feel during the video. Whispering is a more intimate response, and the creators are looking into the camera i.e. you, and it makes you feel like they’re personally talking to you. This would fall into the “personal attention” type mentioned earlier. It’s a soft environment and therefore makes you feel safe and willing to listen to what they’re saying. 

Other key factors to keep in mind for when you use ASMR in your advertising is:

  • Tone of voice
  • Speed of voice
  • Volume of voice
  • Emotion of voice

For your tone of voice, you need to have a soft calming tone. As I mentioned earlier, having the viewer feel relaxed is an important way to keep them engaged with your ad.

For your speed of voice, think about what would fit better with your specific ad. Would a slower speed be best suited? Or is your ad a bit on the enthusiastic side and therefore in need of a faster-paced speed? The one thing you need to keep in mind is to be consistent throughout the ad. Don’t add a bunch of random different speeds to try and hit every mark. Think about the type of ad/product you’re making this ad for and pick which speed to use.

For volume of voice, usually louder voices are associated with aggression or anger and therefore turns people off of wanting to listen to your ad. In order to avoid this mistake, make sure you’re using a lower volume voice for your ad. This will make people feel safer and not overwhelmed. This will lead to them listening to your ad instead of clicking away to get away from the obnoxious noise. 

For emotion of voice, keep your words gentle and positive. As I mentioned above, loud voices are associated with anger and if people feel that anger through your voice, it’s going to leave a negative connotation with your product/ad and negativity does not sell.

These are all important factors to keep in mind when you’re making that ASMR advertisement. Follow these steps as well as doing your own research into ASMR so you can attract this ever-growing niche. If you’re able to successfully reach this market, you’ll be profiting and broadening your market for the future.



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