Brands That Move People: What It Actually Takes

By Becky Johnson, Advertising Week Writer & Podcast Host

For Bose, the case for buying better sound begins with what music means to the listener. In our Advertising Week New York session, “Brands That Move People: What It Actually Takes,” Bose discussed how that connection shapes its marketing, its work with artists and the measures it uses to assess long-term value.

Lana Busignani, Chief Executive Officer at MarketCast, a marketing effectiveness company, led the conversation with Jim Mollica, President, Luxury Consumer Audio & Chief Marketing Officer at Bose. Jim described an approach that puts emotion first while using business results to earn the support needed to build the brand.

Jim joined Bose in 2021 as its first global CMO. Although the company had a strong engineering culture, Jim said its history also contained significant marketing innovation driven by its founder, including branded automotive audio, direct selling and financing for home sound systems.

The task was to build credibility for marketing as a discipline without abandoning that foundation. Jim saw an opportunity to focus on people whose passion for music made sound quality worth the investment.

Music can be part of a person’s identity, Jim said, connecting with how they see themselves and what they share with others. Engineering remains important, but the marketing begins with the experience those capabilities make possible.

“Sound is not an accessory,” Jim said.

Asked how Bose finds those listeners, Jim said demographics still matter in maintaining a healthy mix of buyers. The more important distinction, however, is how people behave: what they consume, how they listen and the importance they place on their connection to music.

Lana said these are discussions clients often bring to MarketCast: how do you bring proof to the CFO for work that’s driven by emotion and culture?

Building internal support for that strategy required a sequence of decisions. Jim said he initially ended several large sports sponsorship contracts and redirected spending toward more urgent priorities, including work that could demonstrate near-term business growth.

Those results helped establish credibility with company leadership while the team developed its broader brand work. Jim said sales-focused tactics could establish an initial foothold, but would become more expensive without a stronger brand behind them.

The shift toward music, culture and lifestyle also required explaining why technical specifications were not always the lead message. Jim said the product’s capabilities could support a decision that began emotionally, rather than expecting detailed engineering claims to create the connection on their own.

“Brand with heritage, not a heritage brand,” Jim said.

That thinking extends across listening occasions. Jim described noise cancellation during a commute and a dedicated home audio system as different ways of serving the same passion, with some customers placing particular value on the time and ritual involved in listening.

The conversation then turned to partnerships. Jim said large sponsorships had delivered substantial impressions, but Bose wanted deeper engagement and participation. That led the brand toward emerging and underappreciated artists across different genres, where it could help people discover music.

The choice of partner reflects a point of view, Jim said. Supporting artists consistently gives Bose a way to demonstrate its commitment to music rather than relying on statements about that commitment.

For Jim, measurement needs to reflect those objectives. Signals that Bose understands music, belongs in the music community and offers something distinctive matter when assessing content and experiences created for music fans.

Jim said the challenge is to find the meaningful idea within a large volume of information. A dashboard that measures everything can distract from the factors that materially affect the business and the brand’s intended position.

Lana also asked about balancing creative craft with high-volume production. Jim distinguished between using AI to produce variations and asking it to originate the brand’s creative work.

“We’re not creating AI content. We’re using AI to create variants,” Jim said.

Those uses include translation and production adaptations needed across retailers and markets. Bose’s work with musicians and its creative perspective remain human-led, Jim said, supported by an internal studio and outside content creators.

Jim described Bose as a music publisher and a community of fans, with a particular way of presenting artists. That perspective, Jim said, is part of the work itself and cannot simply be outsourced.

Bose’s entertainment work also reflects a different view of marketing economics. Jim said the company wants to create programs and experiences it can develop over time, alongside advertising that buys access to an audience.

Jim cited its “Apartment B” house-show concept and described a music documentary series being developed with filmmaker Steven Soderbergh. The ambition is to create content that earns deeper commitment from fans and can generate value beyond its initial release.

Lifetime value is central to that approach. Jim said bringing younger music fans into the Bose customer base matters because their passion can endure, even as their available listening time changes. The company models that value using gross margin dollars, rather than revenue alone.

Asked for advice to marketers entering a turnaround, Jim returned to accountability. Aligning with the CEO’s business objectives and showing early results can create room for longer-term work, while the brand’s underlying character provides direction.

“I didn’t invent these things about Bose,” Jim said. “I may rearticulate them in a different way, but the DNA of what this brand is has not changed one second from when Dr. Bose broke down those speakers.”

Sarah Merians Photography for Advertising Week