Sound plays a powerful role in the way we perceive the world. It arouses emotions, activates memories and creates deep connections. In the world of brands, this sensory force translates into Sound Branding, a strategy that goes far beyond signatures and soundtracks.
But what exactly is Sound Branding and how can it transform your brand? Let's explore this concept and its impact on building memorable identities.
Through our expertise of more than 20 years in sound projects with major brands, we have created a consistent and highly disruptive methodology for thinking about sound in a strategic way, but we realize that this agenda is still distorted.
In this brief article, I will explain in a more objective and didactic way some terminology that is still not very well understood by the market.
What is Sound Branding?
Sound branding is the construction of a consistent sound identity for a brand throughout its narrative arc, i.e. regardless of the point of contact, the brand evokes the same sound essence through musical, vocal and even non-musical elements (noise or absence of sound). Just as visual elements (logo, colors and typography) create visual recognition, these sound elements establish a distinct auditory identity.
However, this process needs to be carried out strategically and holistically, taking into account key issues such as attributes related to brand positioning, impacted audiences, as well as listening to the segment and benchmarks. This strategy must include the choice of sound codes that reinforce the brand message, generate differentiation between other players and greater engagement with the different actors that surround it.
And this goes far beyond just thinking of a Sound Logo and aims to organize the entire brand ecosystem through sound, disseminating all this content to different audiences. Below are some terminologies, where I try to clarify each concept.
Sound Identity
A set of sounds that reinforce the brand's identity at various points of contact. The first step here is to define the sound dna by establishing a territory that differentiates it and reinforces its positioning through sound. Any brand that amplifies musical, vocal or non-musical manifestations at some point of contact must (or at least should) have its sound territory strategically defined, bringing more consistency to its narrative in congruence with other brand identity resources such as visual and verbal appeal.
Sound Logo
More than just a brief sound signature, the sound logo needs to evoke the essence of the brand in a few seconds, generating instant identification. It can be translated into a musical, vocal or non-musical manifestation, or even bring all these elements together. Another important point is to understand whether there will only be one main arrangement or whether it will be necessary to create a circular strategy with different textures for each context and/or touchpoint.
MUSIC ID or MUSIC BRANDING
Defining the brand's musical territory, which can be translated into its relationship with artists and their respective music scenes, festivals or even how to create different playlists for different contexts in its narrative arc.
Personalized tracks or track bank
Just like a bank of images, the world's most valuable brands have realized that they need to create a bank of tracks in their brand repertoire that speak to different moments and help evoke their essence, especially in the Social Media environment.
Brand Voice or Id Voice
Translation of verbal identity into vocal parameters such as speech rhythm, gender, accents, age, among others. These voice drivers can be represented through voice-overs, brand interlocutors or virtual assistants.
Sound Identity Manual (SIM)
As with the MIV (Visual Identity Manual), it is essential to build a sound design system for the brand, taking into account different applications and different contexts and aimed at helping leaders to build a unified narrative through sound.
The importance of sound branding
Sound is a powerful tool for differentiation and brand recognition. On a daily basis, we are surrounded by visual and textual information, making sound branding a differentiator capable of capturing attention and generating emotional connections.
Benefits of Sound Branding
Increased Brand Recognition - Identity sound codes make a brand recognizable even without visual elements.
Creates Emotional Connections - Sound activates emotions and memories, influencing purchasing decisions and preferences.
Competitive Differentiation - While many companies focus only on visuals, sound offers new territory for differentiation.
Improves User Experience - In digital, sounds can make interaction more intuitive and enjoyable.
Boosts Loyalty - Customers tend to connect more deeply with brands that arouse authentic emotions.
Reflects Purpose and Values - Sound can reinforce a brand's pillars and its essence in the market.
How does Sound Branding transform brands?
Sound branding is not just about creating aesthetically interesting sounds. It is a profound strategy that transforms the way a brand is perceived and experienced. Here's how it happens in practice:
Building Memorable Identities
Iconic brands use different sound codes such as sound logos, custom tracks, voices or even sound icons to create a strong auditory identity. Examples such as NETFLIX's sound mark or Alexa's voice are successful examples.
Creating Subconscious Connections
Studies show that sounds activate parts of the brain linked to emotion and memory. This means that a good sound identity can create an automatic association between a sound and a brand.
Enhancing Multichannel Experiences
With the expansion of omnichannel marketing, Sound Branding ensures consistency across different touchpoints - from physical stores to voice assistants and apps.
The Power of Music Curation
Playlist curation is a valuable tool within Sound Branding, as it aligns sounds with the consumer's emotional profile. Brands that adopt this strategy create immersive atmospheres and strengthen their identity.
Sound as a Differential in Physical Environments
Stores and corporate spaces can also benefit from sound branding. The right soundtrack improves the customer experience and reinforces the brand's identity.
How to Implement Sound Branding in Your Brand
To implement an effective Sound Branding strategy, it is essential to rely on experts who understand the intersection between sound, human behavior and technology.
Steps to Successful Implementation:
1 - Define your Sound Strategy - Translating the brand's positioning and identity, its sound attributes and developing a sound ecosystem that is coherent with the brand is fundamental before defining and/or producing any sound manifestation. Understanding the different contexts and channels in which the brand will be inserted is also key to this process.
2 - Co-create your Sound Logo - Develop an original and impactful sound signature that goes beyond the artistic and has a strategic and holistic character. Ideally, it should be born from the sound dna and attributes established in the previous phase. In the same way as the visual logo, the sound logo should be thought of beyond communication, for example when launching the brand's products or events. Another important factor concerns the relationship it will have with visual appeals, i.e. with the visual logo in motion. In our super creative process, we recommend co-creating visual and sound manifestations simultaneously with the team of motion designers.
3 - Testing and adjustment - At Soundthinkers we also have a great deal of expertise in human behavior. This is a key stage in assessing public perception and fine tuning each sound code in favor of the brand.
4 - Implement across the entire narrative arc through a sound guide- Applying sound elements across all of the brand's touchpoints in a systemic way and based on a well-structured, didactic sound guide that talks to the brand's Visual and Verbal Indetectiveness Manual is another crucial point. Remember that involving all the key players in this construction right from the start of the project is essential for the future of the implementation.
The Future of Sound Branding
With the growth of voice assistants, podcasts and smart devices, sound branding is becoming even more relevant. Brands that invest in this strategy today are preparing for a future in which auditory communication will be even more dominant.
If your company wants to exploit the potential of sound to strengthen its brand identity, create emotional connections and stand out in the market, Sound Branding is the way to go.
Specialized professionals, such as those at Soundthinkers, can help turn this vision into reality. Sound is a powerful language - and your brand should already be speaking it.