What is sonic branding?
Sonic branding, also known as sound branding or audio branding, is enhancing your brand identity with sound. This could be a short and impactful audio logo, a beautifully composed soundtrack for your TV campaign, or a complete musical identity. Think of a distinctive voice-over, the sound of your app notifications, or an accelerating electric car. A coherently applied musical identity grabs attention, triggers brand recognition, and reinforces your brand values. This way, sonic branding contributes to the growth of your brand.
How does sonic branding work?
Let’s be honest: when faced with choices, we fall back on our routines. Most purchasing decisions are made automatically. The subconscious mind presents us with a number of options from which we then choose. The challenge for your brand is to get on that mental shortlist. But how do you do that?
To answer this question, you need to view a brand as a network of associations. The result of all interactions you have ever had with that brand. The stronger and more numerous the associations around your brand, the greater the chance you will emerge in a buying situation. We call this mental availability.
You need to train that mental availability, of course. It is therefore important to keep activating that network of associations. You do this with distinctive assets: elements that refer to your brand, such as a visual logo, a specific colour, or a specific sound. By using these consistently, those associations can become as strong, or even stronger than your brand name. This broadens the mental access route to your brand and increases the chances of being on that coveted mental shortlist. Which medium is the most effective in this? Precisely, it is audio.
Why sonic branding?
We are inundated with visual communication. At the same time, we are consuming less and less linear media. This makes it increasingly difficult for brands to reach their target audience. An audience that listens more than it watches. And that offers opportunities.
Audio is on the rise
Our audio consumption is growing. Podcasts are becoming mainstream, social media are increasingly driven by audio, and radio is well on its way to becoming a digital mass medium. As a result, we are now spending a large part of our day consuming audio.
Audio is effective
Sonic branding is one of the most effective ways to strengthen your brand. This is because many different parts of our brain are involved in processing sound. This intense activity ensures that musical information strongly attaches to memories and emotions.
Audio offers opportunities
Most brands have not yet embraced sonic branding, and as a result, investments in auditory media lag behind their adoption by consumers. This means there is still plenty of room to claim your own sound and develop a musical identity.
How will you be recognised if you sound like a cliché?
Auping sonic branding
Auping has been producing beds and mattresses of the highest quality since 1888. A leading brand for which TAMBR developed a subtle, tangible musical identity. The brand associations you hear in Auping’s sound include love, peace and craftsmanship. Encompassed in an extensive audio library, Auping’s sound can be heard in all their expressions, tailored to the story of each campaign and the requirements of each medium. Flexible yet recognisable.
Authentic
The fluffing up of bed linen and the ticking of sewing machines communicate authenticity.
Intimate
Piano and clarinet recorded up close give you the feeling you could touch the music.
Soothing
The contour of the sung theme first moves up, then literally comes to rest.
Auping brand anthem
How do you develop a brand sound?
In developing a unique sound, the character of your brand is central. The development of an audio identity therefore begins with a strategic exploration of your brand. What cultural codes does your brand resonate with? What do you stand for? And how does that sound?
Do you already have a distinctive sound and are ready for a refresh or re-brand? Then it makes sense to test your existing brand sound. To what extent is your sound recognised? And what brand associations does your sonic brand evoke? The results of such a study are valuable starting points for developing a musical strategy.
In addition, it is also important that you stand out. Because how will you be recognised if you sound like a cliché? Sonic branding also means that you consciously position yourself in relation to your competitors. The more distinctive your sound is, the greater the chance you’ll be remembered.
Once you’ve found your own sound, you need to ensure your sound is heard everywhere. A sound logo gets you a long way, but it’s better to invest in a musical identity that fits all your expressions with your own recognisable sound. An audio library flexible enough to support the story of your brand on every medium.
Summary
Every brand deserves its own sound. A unique combination of rhythm, melody, and timbre. Consistently applied, you build new associations and enhance existing memory structures. And thus, sonic branding contributes to the growth of your brand. To sum it up:
What is sonic branding?
Sonic branding is enhancing your brand identity with sound.
Why sonic branding?
Our audio consumption is growing, while brands have not yet widely embraced sonic branding. This creates plenty of room to claim your own sound.
What are the benefits of sonic branding?
Sonic branding increases brand awareness, triggers brand recognition, and strengthens the character of your brand.