The impact of the sonic logo’s acoustic features on orienting responses, emotions and brand personality transmission

Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine how sonic logo’s acoustic features (intensity, pitch and pace) based on melodic tunes with no voice orient the response of consumers, attract attention, elicit levels of pleasantness and calmness and transmit brand personality traits. Design/methodology/approach A within-subject experimental factorial design is applied to measure emotional arousal (indexed as electrodermal activity) and enhancement on perceptual processing (indexed as heart rate), as well as self-reported factors, namely, calmness/excitement, pleasantness and brand personality scales. Findings Results show a significant increase on electrodermal activity associated with fast-paced sonic logos and a decrease in heart rate in slow-paced long sonic logos. Also, fade-up, pitch-ascending fast sonic logos are defined as more exciting and descending-pitch sonic logos as more pleasant. Research limitations/implications The use of sonic logos with no voice does limit its implications. Besides, the use of three variables simultaneously with 18 versions of sonic logos in a laboratory setting may have driven participants to fatigue; hence, findings should be cautiously applied. Practical implications First, sonic logos are best processed in a fade-up form. Second, fast pace is recommended to orient response, whereas slow pace is recommended to transmit calmness. Practitioners may opt for fast-paced sonic logos if the design is new or played in a noisy environment and opt for slow-paced sonic logos in already highly recognized sound designs. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to combine psychophysiological measures and self-reported scales in a laboratory experiment on how sonic logo’s acoustic features orient response, transmit emotions and personality traits.

Recognition of Conspecifics and Sex By Territorial Males of the Social Wasp Polistes Fuscatus (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Territorial males of Polistes fuscatus (subspecies variatus) respond to intruders with a chain of behavior of increasing intensity as follows: (1) no reaction, (2) orient, (3) pursue, (4) grasp, and (5) either grapple (with male intruders) or attempt copulation (with females). In the laboratory test objects combining different visual, chemical, and behavioral stimuli were tethered and waved in front of perched territorial males to determine the role of each in eliciting a male response. All test objects elicited an orient response. The overall color or contrast with the background and shape of the test object had little effect on male response. The black and yellow banded coloration characteristic of conspecifics released pursuit and grasping behavior, while chemical cues in combination with the banded coloration released grasping and grappling or attempt copulation. Recognition of sex was based on chemical cues and not on the sexually dichromic coloration. From this and previous studies we conclude that the black and yellow banded coloration of conspecifics is the most important visual stimulus for long-range attraction (> 15 cm) of males, while at close-range or on contact a cuticular surface pheromone and a sex pheromone from the venom are important in the recognition of conspecifics and for discrimination between the sexes.