How Propel and Pandora Tapped Into the Power of Sonic Experiences through Mood and Taste

Monica Glosson

This summer, Propel had two goals: generate awareness of a new product and bottle through high-touch audio engagement opportunities as well as drive excitement and ticket sales for Propel Co:Labs Fitness Festival, a one-of-a-kind fitness festival bringing together the fitness community featuring some of the most innovative instructors and studios from around the country, along with some of Hollywood's elite celebrity trainers & nutritionists, and special musical guests. Ultimately, Propel and Pandora came together to show everyone how Propel does fitness.

On-Platform Audio Experience

To do this, Propel and Pandora designed a multi-dimensional audio experience rooted in bringing audiences the motivation, education, and hydration they crave throughout their fitness journey and everyday lives which we called Training Boost by Propel Vitamin Boost -- a custom audio destination on Pandora that gives Fitness Enthusiasts control over their workouts with an interactive experience that acts as a one-stop shop for all training needs:

  • The Training Boost Station, expertly curated with music to motivate
  • On-Demand Guided Audio Workouts from trainers Romi Rivera, Gunnar Peterson, and Luke Milton that provide direction and prompts throughout a listener’s workout session
  • On-Demand Video Clips guiding listeners who are seeking fitness expertise for a complete workout

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In designing the Training Boost Playlist, Pandora’s curation team focused on including music designed to inspire motivation, allowing Propel to be a source of motivation for their consumer. Through Pandora’s mood score analysis, the songs in this playlist evoke confident, energetic, happy, and uplifting moods.

Propel and Pandora took the time to curate a motivational experience, not just a playlist, and it paid off. Propel saw three times as much engagement in the station this year compared to last year. Last year, the station saw 200,000 subscribers and this year had 600,000 subscribers.

Whether you’re a fitness enthusiasts already or just beginning your health journey, listen to Training Boost on Pandora to boost your mood and your heart rate, wherever you are!

Taking the Sonic Experience Off-Platform

Outside of Propel’s audio destination, Pandora secured top-tier artists Charli XCX and Chromeo for Propel’s Co:Labs Fitness Festival, generating excitement of the festival among consumers and unique live music workouts.

In addition to artist programming, Pandora and Propel curated an on-site “Sound Boost” Sonic Tasting Activation for the event as part of a unique hydration & product experience opportunity for festival attendees.

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Pandora’s proprietary app developed for the Sound Boost activation included a variety of custom audio soundscapes meant to maximize the flavor experience of each fruit blend variety of Propel Vitamin Boost – Strawberry Raspberry, Peach Mango and Apple Pear – while underscoring the presence of electrolytes and vitamins . Festival attendees were invited to grab a Propel Vitamin Boost and become their own Flavor DJ by blending these unique soundscapes to manipulate and enhance their tasting experience, while also replenishing their bodies in-between workouts.

Participants at the event couldn’t believe their taste buds as they moved the fader from “electrolyte” to “fruit” and noted the fluctuation in flavor. The experience brought an element of discovery and delight – as well as science – to the users, while providing a tangible demonstration of the relationship between music and taste (Vitamin Boost = Sound Boost).

Propel’s campaign shows how music and sound’s effect on mood and taste can add just the right amount of flavor to create a compelling media strategy both on and off-platform. The campaign ran on Pandora through the end of August, generating a fitness state of mind with millions of consumers across the US.

Want to know how you can use sound science and sound art to take your audio further? Reach out to your sales rep today.