What is sonic branding?

Audio makes all of your communication more effective. But composed music is too expensive, stockmusic is not exclusive and licenses are complex. We believe it’s time to break down these barriers and make the power of music available to everyone. But what is sonic branding and how does it work?

On choice

Confronted with decisions, we fall back on our routines. Fixed patterns that cost us as little energy as possible. As such, most purchase-decisions are made automatically. Our subconscious brain presents us with a number of options from which we subsequently choose. So the challenge for your brand is to get on that mental shortlist. But how?

On brands

To answer that question, you have to think of a brand as a network of associations. The result of all the interactions you’ve had with a brand. Think of it as a memory room. For brands you’ve rarely interacted with, this room is sparsely furnished. And for brands that have been with you for a while, that room is richly decorated. The stronger and more numerous the associations around your brand, the greater the chance that you will emerge in a buying situation. We call this mental availability.

On sonic branding

Of course you have to train that mental availability. It is therefore vital to continuously activate that network of associations. If not, the light in your room will slowly fade out. You do this with distinctive assets: elements that refer to your brand, such as a visual logo, a certain color or a specific sound. By using these assets consistently, those associations can become just as strong, or even stronger than your brand name. Paving the unconscious road to your brand and increasing the chance that you will end up on that coveted mental shortlist. And as sound is processed in so many parts of our brain, it turns out that audio is most effective in doing so.

Want to know more? Book a masterclass sonic branding and learn all about music, brain and marketing.

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