More than words: the power of sonic branding in multisensory design

How many times a day do you listen to the world? Constantly.
Sound is embedded in our lives, is all around us, and we can’t escape its recall.
Our world is predominantly visual, and that’s why solely visual communication is not enough anymore.
We sometimes forget that other elements help the brand being memorable, and we often leave them behind.

According to research on Brand Effect on Spotify (Nielsen, Sept 2019), the brand impact improves substantially with audio ads.
Audio ads generate an 81% increase in ad recall and a 10% increase in prompted awareness, mainly because audio is a journey companion, and it has the power to reach people. Sound can be with you while you are commuting, reading the paper, crossing the street, exercising — moments when sight can’t be the ideal partner.
It’s no surprise then, although underrated, that sound may represent a massive opportunity for brands.

WHAT IS SONIC BRANDING

Let’s start with a definition.
Sonic branding (also sometimes called audio branding, sound branding, or acoustic branding) is the increasingly popular strategic use of auditory elements such as carefully crafted sounds and music to help reinforce brand recognition and enhance the consumer experience

SCIENCE, NOT FLUFF

What’s behind the effectiveness of sonic branding, and what makes it so potential?
Easy one: science.
You might have heard about the “Pavlov Experiment”.
At the turn of the 20th century, Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, found out that repeating exposition to objects or events could trigger a conditioned response.

To prove it, Pavlov showed how a dog’s food bowl — identified as a stimulus — would provoke an unconditioned response — salivation — to the dog. Reiterating the act, day after day, the dog started associating the craving for food to Pavlov’s shoes — as he was approaching. Later on, Pavlov tried recreating the experiment with a neutral stimulus: ringing a bell while giving food to the dog. Once again, after repeating the action, he tried ringing the bell without providing food and the dog surprisingly still salivated.

In psychological terms, that’s how sound deeply pierces our mind, creating a conditioned response

Well, we’re not talking about dogs, are we? But we can certainly claim that human brains’ auditory neural pathways are less complicated than the visual ones, which means we can respond to sounds way faster than visual inputs.
Sound tickles our instincts and slips past our rational brain. It commands attention, arouses curiosity while, from a brand perspective, generating customer engagement and loyalty.
With the dynamic nature of sound, you can create emotional connections within your brand that a logo or a color palette alone would never do. That is pretty clear if you think that people often tap their feet or hum to a company’s jingle, even if it is not playing, and there are no billboards around.

STARTING FROM THE BOTTOM, NOW WE’RE HERE

All nice but, who got it started?
We could say that music was in the air even before language was invented. That means our ancestors were getting a groove on way before they started having proper conversations.
Without getting so primitive, in the early 1930s, the National Broadcasting Co. (NBC) aired three clarion chimes on the radio for the very first time. Those memorable chimes are identified as the first use of a “sonic” brand and still air today.

It’s no surprise that radio was the very first means of early sound branding examples, as, during WW2, Radio London’s broadcasts were opened by the first notes of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony played by drum (probably because they represented the letter “V” in Morse code, linked to the idea of Victory).
Some examples made history and did not change a single note through the years to maintain coherence and a sense of heritage.

Still, more and more brands face changing times and start feeling that innovation cannot come just through a refreshed visual identity, and a new sound should come along. BMW gives a case in point. As we all remember, every BMW ad has ended with a ‘double gong’ sound, but 2013 was time for a change. The brand came up with a new logo, where sound elements are played forwards and backwards that symbolize flexible mobility. The melody is introduced by a rising sound, underscored by two distinctive bass tones. It builds towards a shimmering finish which is said to represent the joy of progress, of dynamism and Sheer Driving Pleasure.

Other cases in the same category show how a sonic expression is increasingly considered in a rebranding approach. Volkswagen started changing clothes with a new logo, which most notably flattens the prominently 3D design down to its essential elements.
But Volkswagen team knew that regular logos aren’t enough anymore and completed the rebranding with a distinctive acoustic expression.

SETTING THE TONE: PROCESS

Brands have developed clear guidelines for logo, colors, typography, and animations. Still, most tend to be chaotic in terms of sound, although multisensory branding has been proven to be more powerful.

The average customer attention span is shrinking around 8 seconds — yeah, shorter than that of a goldfish -. This means that it is becoming technically impossible to get someone’s attention. Sonic branding can be incredibly helpful in catching and maintaining focus, leaving an “earprint”.

Your sound is going to be that thing that hooks someone, even before the visual behind it.

So, now, what’s the process?

Sound agencies don’t work with pencils and pictures. They work with audio to help brands define a sonic branding system that will make their sound consistent no matter what touchpoint involves the consumer experience.
There are a few key points to figure out what sound suits the client best.

Go out in the world and search for snippets of sound that might go along with the decoded values.

• Everything starts with the values and a competitor assessment to ensure not to do anything that’s already encoded in the category.
• Create audio mood boards, discuss them with the client, get an idea of the things they feel comfortable with or not, and why.

• Build up an idea of territories to explore and brief the creative team.
• Present a wide range of concepts, narrow them down, define them, and end up with a unique Brand DNA sound.

This new identity will become a proper musical DNA adapted to the different touchpoints, not just a “sonic logo”.

We need to talk about music with music

There’s a need for creating musical grammar. It is possible to learn and build a distinctive and vast sonic vocabulary for the brand.
“Words are meaningless and forgettable”, some might say, use musical references instead.

STRIKE THE RIGHT NOTE: HINTS AND TIPS

In an overcrowded market where we are overwhelmed with inputs and messages, it is more and more critical for brands to find new ways to stand out. Many visual branding cues are helpful, but sonic is more powerful in having people recognize the brand (Ipsos 2020).
There is a need for brands to be as disciplined in their sound as in their visuals.

1) Don’t follow the crowd
You need to build sound, not just be noisy. Understanding the competitive sonic environment helps find a way to stand apart. Assessing the landscape is fundamental for a more precise music selection or composition while providing a competitive advantage.
By launching Burberry Acoustics, the British brand par excellence exposed its increasingly international audience to local musical talents, projecting emerging English artists and celebrating the proper British heritage, voice and culture.

2) Put your best dress on
Much like your visual assets, your auditory elements need to be tailor-made. Develop a proprietary sonic identity and sonic guidelines to have a sonic brand expression that will remain consistent and ownable across all touchpoints.
Think of Oreo and how it changed performers, lyrics and beats of its commercials while keeping clear and defined its Wonderfilled sound.

3) Lift up your voice
In the current situation and indeed after these times, we will probably see increased voice-activated technology use. People will tend to avoid physical contact and might feel more comfortable with voice search. More than ever, working on a sonic and vocal branding strategy becomes crucial and potential.
Mastercard launched its sonic identity early last year, including a transaction sound that plays across mediums and platforms when users contact it, involving musicians including Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda.

4) Let’s get physical
Some brands will still attract customers to stores, and in that case, it is fundamental to develop a sonic environment consistent with their messages across all the touchpoints. The physical experience needs to mirror what’s communicated through TV, radio, social media and digital channels.
Triumph developed a sound concept for its shop sound system, building a cross-genre Store Music Library, adapted through the day’s times, and created a solid integrated approach to the brand.

5) Get the best of both worlds
Ideally speaking, a sonic branding project should be developed by highly sensitive and skilled musicians, just like an environment system or a multi-store retail concept should be executed by qualified architects. Nevertheless, to guarantee a real “on brand” product, a brand guardianship approach is needed.
The ones who genuinely know the brand and set a vision for it should lead and address a project like a sonic branding one, and that’s where a branding agency is needed.

These times will leave us with a big learning: we need to embrace a holistic sonic expression, we can’t leave it aside anymore.

Thanks to Guido Smider and Gianluca Andreucci for their inspiring talks.
Illustrations and animations by superb Andrea Maddaloni and Salvatore Illeggittimo.