Intercontinental and the ‘Girl from Ipanema’

By Michael Spencer.

“Why do we play ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ when no one in the bar is over 40?”

Why indeed?  It was this comment from InterContinental Hotels Group CEO, Andrew Cosslett in a wide-ranging Time Magazine interview (see Time Magazine, The Times, Chief Executive) that first caught our attention.

So my Sound Strategies colleague, ex-Burson Marsteller CEO (London) Reginald Watts, put a call in.

Since then Sound Strategies has been working with the Group’s lead brand, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, to develop a comprehensive Acoustic Program that will affect all the sound and music touch points in the brand’s 148 hotels around the world and across all communications channels. Intercontinental will launch its Acoustic Program in early 2008.

According to David Anderson, vice president, global brand innovation for InterContinental Hotels & Resorts:

“Over the last year, we’ve been conducting in-depth consumer research around the world and one area of focus was the application of sound and music in our hotels. Music and sound have a profound and distinct affect on people’s physiological states and their moods. And of course, music and sound contribute significantly to the essence of our Brand. Therefore, we chose to take a comprehensive and scientific approach to our acoustic program.”