Learn about the power of building your brand through sound
What exactly is it?
As a marketer or entrepreneur, you’re familiar with the importance of branding and the role it plays in business. Getting your logo, colors, fonts, imagery and other branding elements aligned are crucial aspects of establishing a credible company.
You may have your visual identity intact, but have you considered your audio identity?
If you’ve produced any video content for your brand, you most likely already started using music and sound in your marketing efforts. For an explainer video, you may have searched for something like “upbeat ukulele music” and added it to your video.
Audio branding, also known as sonic branding, goes beyond adding nice sounding music to aid your visuals. Developing an audio brand involves the creation and strategic usage of audio assets that distinguish your business in the marketplace.
Some iconic implementations of audio branding include:
- McDonald’s “bada-ba-ba-ba” melody
- State Farm’s “Like a good neighbor” jingle
- Little Caesar’s “Pizza pizza” audio logo
MUSIC IS THE SHORTHAND OF EMOTION.
The power of music and sound
As writer Leo Tolstoy put it, “Music is the shorthand of emotion”. Whether you’re getting pumped up by trap music during an intense workout or relaxing to ambient sounds, your psychological and physiological state can be greatly influenced by music.
Memorable jingles from the likes of Foldgers (“The best part of waking up…”), still influence the decision to choose their brand of coffee over others.
In fact, Las Vegas casinos use music and sounds to entice you to gamble more. The fun slot machine melodies are designed to sound “rewarding” so you feel like you’re always winning…even while you’re losing!
An experiment was conducted involving 96 gamblers playing a slot machine with and without sound. When the slot machines had sound, players overestimated their number of wins by a significantly greater margin, even though all machines had the same probability of winning.
Music also has the ability to influence your perception of taste. When eating food that has a mix of different flavors (sweet, bitter, salty, etc.), certain sound pitches help to highlight particular features of food.
So how does all of this translate into results for your business?
Raise perception of brand value
One of the key benefits of audio branding is that it can help raise the perception of brand value for a business. By creating a distinct and memorable audio identity, businesses can enhance their brand image and communicate their values and personality in a more engaging and effective way.
This not only helps businesses stand out in a crowded market but also creates a stronger emotional connection with their audience. Research shows that brands with a recognizable sonic identity can see a 5% increase in perceived value and purchase intent.
Think about it: as with visual elements, the addition of distinct audio elements gives a sense that a company really cares about the overall sensory experience of their potential customers.
Boost brand awareness
On audio media outlets such as music streaming platforms and podcasts, it’s challenging to make your brand stand out without visual aids. Even when it comes to video ads, the audio aspects plays an important role in getting viewers to pay attention.
On average, humans respond to audio much quicker than visual stimuli. Incorporating distinct audio across touchpoints allows a brand to gain an edge in getting recognized.
By developing a unique audio identity, people will become aware of your brand and recognize it from auditory cues alone.
All about that bass (and treble)
Brands with audio identities have been reaping the benefits.
8.5x
odds of having strong branded attention when using distinct sound assets.
Source: Kantar Group
24%
Source: Spotify for Brands Report 2020
5%
Source: The Drum
96%
more likely to be remembered by consumer when music is aligned with brand identity.
Enhanced impact of visuals
When consumers discover a brand through video content or interact in a physical environment, audio is involved in the experience. This may include a song selection for an advertisement, a playlist for a retail store or sound effects in an app.
Usually, a lot of energy is put towards thoughtfully crafting the visual experience, while the audio strategy is neglected. Developing the audio aspect with intention can enhance the impact of the visuals.
Research conducted by the Kantar Group found that brands with the strongest assets are 52% more likely to spring to mind when consumers are shopping within the category. Given that distinct sound assets have 850% odds of producing strong branded attention (while used in 5% of ads), there’s a huge opportunity to get prospects to remember you.
Audio branding in action
Small to medium-sized businesses, as well as major corporations have embraced the development of a consistent audio identity. Here are some nice examples demonstrating audio branding.
VanMoof
Agency: Amp
Tostitos
Agency: Made Music Studio
Colgate
Agency: Massive Music
CBS
Agency: Antfood
Prepare for the sonic boom
As you can see, the concept of audio branding isn’t anything new. Companies have been leveraging the power of audio on mediums like television and radio throughout the 20th century. As media became more diverse with the rise of the internet, other digital marketing outlets gained prominence. Such outlets have even put into question the importance of the jingles of advertising’s heyday.
Sonic branding is the audio equivalent of a brand’s username.
So why get into audio branding now?
With the rise of podcasts, music streaming platforms and satellite radio, more and more people are getting introduced to brands in an “audio-first” fashion.
According to the Edison Research report, ‘The Infinite Dial 2022’, 74 million Americans have listened to a podcast in the past week. In addition to that, nearly half of U.S. internet users report owning a smart speaker.
Podcast Listening
Total U.S. population over 12 years old
Source: The Infinite Dial 2022, Edison Research
In 2019, social media marketing titan Gary Vaynerchuk advocated for the need for business owners to weave a sonic identity in their marketing efforts. “Ultimately, sonic branding is the audio equivalent of a brand’s username. If a company plays their tag alongside advertisements or content that match their brand’s positioning, eventually that audio tag by itself will conjure up the intended feelings around that brand.”
In 2021, there was a 22% increase in companies launching audio identities. Companies like American Express, General Mills and Walmart have been increasing their audio investments in recent years.
Signs of the sonic boom
Consumers are increasingly tuning into audio outlets and companies are starting to take note.
22%
Source: Made Music Studio
48%
Source: Comscore
74MM
Source: The Infinite Dial 2022
65%
of podcast listeners consider purchasing a product after it’s promoted on a podcast.
Elements of an audio identity
A complete audio identity may contain distinct sounds, music compositions and voice guidelines. As with a visual brand identity, an audio identity is organized with a style guide for reference.
Here’s an overview of the elements included:
Audio logo
Audio logos (or sonic logos) are essentially “micro jingles”. These short sound compositions, typically 3-5 seconds long, consist of a riff, sound effects, a vocal phrase and/or any other combination of audio elements.
The audio logo is intended to slip into the consciousness of a consumer, forming a connection to the brand. As a consumer continues to interact with the brand (as a prospect or customer), this connection is further reinforced.
The initial exposure works on the echoic memory of the listener, while repeated exposure works on the long term memory. An audio logo allows you to be more “sticky” to consumers which can translate to an increase in repeat customers.
Voice
As voice is used to verbally communicate your message, you want to ensure that the delivery vehicle suits your brand.
Based on your target audience, does it make more sense to have a reassuring motherly voice communicating your message? Or an authoritative “Morgan Freeman” type voice?
Is your message communicated in a casual tone? Or a more formal, proper vocabulary way?
Music
Music serves as the longer form bedrock of your audio identity. The music your brand utilizes will depend on who your audience is and the messages you’re looking to convey.
A sports drink company looking to appeal to adrenaline rush-seeking twenty-somethings might opt for energizing hard rock music in their commercials. On the other hand, an educational company geared towards career-changing professionals might opt for uplifting dance-pop music for their training videos.
The dynamics, pauses and transitions within the music composition must also be considered. Getting the timing of these aspects in sync with the voiceover and visuals is crucial for maximum impact.
Sounds
Distinct sounds also play a role in shaping a brand’s audio identity. For decades, the video gaming industry has been intentional about the sounds that sync with the playing experience. These sounds are instrumental in heightening the enjoyment of gameplay.
Digital applications, devices and retail environments rely on sound to communicate events. Whether it’s a ping for a notification, or a chime to indicate “success”, these earcons guide the user experience by providing useful feedback.
While sounds serve to communicate, it’s also important that these sounds are satisfying to the user. Cell phone manufacturers are cognizant about including nice melodic ringtones as a default.
Alternatives to a custom audio identity
Being aware of the power of sound and music, you might be wondering “why go through the trouble of getting a custom sonic identity created?”. After all, there are plenty of great resources for sound and music readily available to use in your projects.
Not to mention, there are popular songs created by well known music artists. Why not just use your favorite song to promote your business?
Let’s go over the pros and cons of these alternatives.
Using royalty free stock audio
When searching for affordable and easily accessible music to use for your marketing, royalty free audio sites are often the first destination. Sites like Audio Jungle and Premium Beat offer an expansive library of high quality instrumentals and sounds that can be downloaded instantly. As the name suggests, you can use a music composition from these sites without paying ongoing royalty fees.
For brands with limited marketing budgets, using royalty free audio is typically the way to go.
However, if your brand is in a competitive market and you’re producing content across video and audio outlets, stock audio isn’t enough. Reusing the same instrumentals as other brands (even those outside of your industry) can effectively nullify the impact of the music.
Licensing popular music
Capitalizing on the popularity of mainstream songs has been a go-to strategy used by big businesses for decades. For example, as part of the ‘Imported from Detroit’ campaign in 2011, Chrysler teamed up with Eminem and featured his hit song “Lose Yourself” to inspire consumers to take pride in buying American automobiles.
Influencers on Youtube regularly use hit songs in their videos as well. Youtube’s Content ID system can track the audio used in a video and notify the music artist for clearance. Upon clearing the usage of the track, the artist gets a share of advertising revenue generated from the video.
Using popular music in your marketing clearly has it’s advantages. However, to use the music legally, you need to get permission from the artist. The cost to acquire usage rights could approach six figures based on the artist, song and reach of your campaign.
If you decide to use a popular song without getting permission in advance, the artist who created the music has the power to “mute” your video (thanks to audio detection systems like Content ID) if they don’t want you using their music. Worse, they can take you to court.
Another thing to keep in mind is that using a popular song may essentially tie your brand to the artist. While this could be seen as a good thing, in the event that the artist does something that’s frowned upon by society, this negative association can end up hurting your brand.
The future of audio branding
As audio becomes a more important part of an overall brand strategy, businesses are looking into new ways to harness it. Here are some industries that are seeing a rise of innovative usage of audio.
Appliances
For a long time, appliances like laundry machines and microwaves produced generic “beep” sounds for notifications. Now, machines are learning to play the harp.
…brand loyalty…
Healthcare
Hospitals are starting to take note…soothing music…
…quicker recovery time…
Automotive
Car manufacturers are also becoming aware of their audio identity.
…electric vehicles aiming to sound like traditional gas vehicles with artificial engine sounds.
…
Virtual reality (VR)
…immersive experiences… soundscapes
Metaverse
…
Is audio branding right for your business?
Before developing an audio brand, first you’ll want to make sure that you have a clear idea about your brand identity. Consider the following questions:
- What are your brand values?
- What’s your brand vision?
- Who’s your target audience?
- Will you be creating video content of any kind?
- Do you plan to create a podcast or promote on audio streaming platforms?
- Are you developing a web application or electronic product?
Get started
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Sign up to receive tips, strategies and inspiration on making the most of your audio branding strategy.
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