The Power of Sound: How Sonic Branding Can Help Grow Your Company’s Reach
In this post, we’ll cover the following:
If you asked a room full of people “what do you consider as effective business marketing?”, you will probably end up with a wide range of answers. From social media management to celebrity endorsements and a positive brand image, there are several valid answers that all contribute towards successful marketing campaigns.
However, very few will answer “sonic branding”. For most, the term is probably entirely unfamiliar, and yet they would still be able to identify sonic assets when exposed to them.
So, what is sonic branding, and if very few people know what sonic assets are, is it worth investing in it?
Absolutely, and here’s why.
Sonic branding focuses on a lesser-used sense when it comes to advertising
As a society, we are incredibly focused on visuals. So much of what we do orientates itself around our sense of sight, from choosing which clothes to wear each day to the car we drive (or want to drive) and the media we consume.
TikTok and YouTube are two of the most influential social media platforms currently on the internet. Some of our most common pastimes, like watching the television or playing video games, are inherently sight-based too. In fact, the only one of your five senses you are using to read this blog is sight as well.
That’s because sight is unrestrictive. Taste and smell are unlikely to be used outside of the food and cosmetic industries, and touch is tough to utilise outside of the clothing industry.
That leaves hearing: the sense which sonic branding appeals to, and the sense that is drastically under-utilised. Unlike taste, smell, and touch, there are very few barriers when it comes to sonic assets, and unlike sight, hearing doesn’t require your full attention.
This is why sonic branding is so effective. It appeals to an underutilised sense in terms of advertisement, and it doesn’t require someone’s full attention to be successful. In fact, a successful sonic asset will often stick in your memory even without you trying to remember it.
Audio brands are often subconsciously recognisable
“Did somebody say Just Eat?” If you read that sentence and didn’t hear Just Eat’s jingle in your head at the same time, you are certainly in the minority. The instant recognisability of a phrase or song such as this means that sonic assets work similarly to a logo in many ways.
No matter whether you’re at home or out and about, something as iconic as the McDonalds logo, for example, will immediately catch your attention. The same can be said about sonic branding, meaning that if you hear a certain tune or note, you may immediately associate it with a specific company.
This is incredibly powerful method of marketing. If your brand is easily recalled on the spot and associated with a particular sound, your customers may be thinking about you constantly. Every time they something vaguely similar to your sonic asset, your customers will be thinking of your business.
What makes a great sonic asset?
From our perspective as a leading creative agency in Birmingham, a great sonic asset needs to be effective at three main things:
- Appeal
- Personality
- Memorability
Appeal
Simply put, a sonic asset must appeal to the audience. Dismissing a few notable outliers, sonic assets need to be liked by those who will hear them to be successful. This means they should either sound professionally made, give off positive connotations, or both.
Some examples of this include Moonpig, Checkatrade, and Just Eat. The beats and jingles in these examples are generally uplifting and enjoyable to listen to and might even make you sing along.
Personality
A sonic asset must also be reflective of your brand for people to think of your company when they hear it. Certain ideals of your business need to be expressed through the sound – for example, a mechanic may want to have more metallic sounds take centre stage in their sonic asset. In some cases, you may also want to include the name of your brand in your jingle.
Memorability
Lastly, a sonic asset needs to be remembered to be effective. There is no point in including sound in your marketing if no one can recall your brand after hearing it, or if the tune doesn’t flow logically.
Most sonic assets work because people sing or hum along to it subconsciously. If your sonic asset is too long, doesn’t follow a tune, or is simply produced poorly, no one will care to remember it.
Contact us for further information
If you’d like a deeper look into sonic branding and what it could do for your business, get in touch. As marketing experts, we know how to amplify your brand both on and off the internet and can help plan a comprehensive marketing strategy for your business. For more information on how we could help your business grow, email info@edge-creative.com or call the office on 0121 355 8092.
