Recent science on the value of incorporating sound in brand is staggering. Sonic identity, as the industry calls it, is proven to boost brand awareness, loyalty, even purchasing rates.
Sonic identity can boost brand awareness, loyalty, even purchasing rates.
So why aren’t more brands doing it?
Whilst the number of brands using sound strategically has certainly increased in the last five years, we’re a long way from brands prioritising sonic identity the way they do visual or verbal identities.
At SDA, we deliver sonic branding solutions as part of a holistic brand identity, empowering our clients to express their brand through every sense. We develop unique brand personalities and work closely with sound experts to help us bring that to life throughout the entirety of the brand experience.
We spoke with one of those experts, Elisa Harris, from London-based Sonicbrand, one of the first specialist agencies in the world for strategic music, voice and sound, to share her insights on the role and importance of sonic identities for brands today.
Let’s start with the basics. For people who don’t know, what is sonic identity in branding?
Sonic branding is the consistent approach to sound. When we say sound, we mean three territories: sound design, voice, and music. It’s about using these elements consistently across the entirety of a brand. Crucially, it’s not just for a one-off project. A brand’s sonic identity must be built into the brand’s guidelines alongside its visual identity. And it must not stay static; it must evolve over time. There should be someone there taking care of that sound, ensuring that it is still living and breathing, and making sure that the core sound is building into a library of sounds.
Sonic identity must not stay static; it must evolve over time, making sure that the core sound is building into a library of sounds.
A great example of a brand that uses sonic identity really well is McDonald’s. Initially part of a song, their jingle has become a standalone melody used in a variety of ways. A short clip of the song became part of their advertising sign offs. Later, the song became a humming, whistling sonic logo. And today it’s just 5 notes, but those notes are played in many different ways. It has always moved with the times. People still recognise that melody, but the adaptability of it keeps it current and memorable.
How does it work? What makes sonic identity such an effective medium for brands?
Sound is an integral part of the way we experience the world. Before we can see, we hear our mothers sing to us as we go to sleep. When we hear ambulance sirens, we know instinctively that they signal alarm, without any need for explanation. There are so many triggers and sounds and musical entities in our lives – that’s what we tap into in our world. How to make people stand to attention. How to move someone to tears, to laughter. It is incredibly powerful stuff. There is no medium like it.
But as I mentioned earlier, it’s not going to be effective if you don’t keep using it, consistently. We say to our clients, we can design you the most distinctive and beautiful piece of music. But unless you keep using it all over the place, all the time, and it’s recent in people’s ears, it just won’t be recognised. Sonic identity is effective because of three things: recency, relevancy and repetition.
If you think about the Netflix ‘Du-Dun’ as an example. Everyone knows that sound. But that’s because it’s relevant to us in the world we live in, because we are all consuming that kind of content. And it’s there every single time you open Netflix. Whereas if you heard it a year ago, and then you hear it again today, you probably wouldn’t remember it.
Sonic identity is effective because of three things: recency, relevancy and repetition.
Are there some types of sounds that are more effective than others?
Interestingly, we did a piece of research on the automotive identity. Automotive companies have a tendency to develop sonic logos – where the logo will appear at the end of a TV ad accompanied by a sound. But when we asked panels to listen to these sonic logos back-to-back, people struggled to distinguish them one from the other. All the investment that goes into the development of these assets, and the media payments that go behind elevating them – and yet, the recall and recognition is quite weak.
Why? If you think about it – the BMWs, the Audis, the Citroens – they are all very sound design based. The research shows us that unless you have some elements that are melodic in nature i.e have a tune – it’s quite difficult for people to remember them. That is why we remember that McDonalds tune so well – whether it’s played on a studio keyboard or a set of steel drums, it’s the melody we remember.
Unless you have some elements that are melodic in nature, it’s quite difficult for people to remember it.
What’s your process? How do you go about creating a sonic identity – how do you translate a brand, an idea, a feeling into a sound?
We start with the brand filter. Right from the start, and throughout our process, we work closely with branding agencies like you. You’re the team developing the brand – so we work together to ensure that we’re helping to bring that brand to life. The work you do specifically on brand personality gives us the characteristics we need to start translating the brand into sound.
We work closely with branding agencies like you. You’re the team developing the brand – so we work together to ensure that we’re helping to bring that brand to life.
We do that through our mood board, in which we take what is written about the brand, pulling out 5 or 6 adjectives, start to find commercially available clips that reflect these ideas, and put these onto an interactive board. It will start with around 20 clips, and we’ll get that down to 10, to 5, by workshopping that mood board. These 5 tracks are so vital because they are the result of conversations we’ve had with the branding agency and the client – debates about whether this guitar riff or this beat or this feeling of positivity is right for the brand, accurately reflects its personality.
The second filter is the adaptability and flexibility filter. Does it have enough in it to be able to evolve over time? We start with a core theme, a tune that’s about 60 seconds long, and a sonic logo. But very swiftly we want to move on to create new assets that accompany those fundamentals, creating that suite of assets – cousins, uncles, aunts – to the main asset.
Do we think that it’s going to be timeless? Granted, this is more difficult to answer. But when we listen to music a lot, we have a gut feel if it’s going to last the test of time. If it’s too simple, for instance – just two notes or it simply goes up a scale – we don’t think it will have longevity. It has to have something that’s characterful enough, distinctive enough, to embed itself.
As we look to the future, where do you see sonic identity going?
Ten years ago, sonic agencies like us would be asked simply to create a jingle – an intel inside, a bookmark, something to end a TV ad. Fast forward to today’s world – sounds are in every part of our daily lives: our devices, our apps, public transport, every time you pay for something or swipe in somewhere, there’s another beep, another bong. Everything now makes a sound. There are more use cases, so there is more need for defining how a brand sounds across all of those multiple touchpoints. That’s why brands are now starting to say – hang on a second, we don’t only advertise on TV and radio, we have all sorts of avenues.
That being said, sonic branding is still about 15 years behind visual branding. So, what we see in the next 15 years, is the practice of sonic identity catching up, becoming as important as the visual world. As branding agencies create more animated and video content, close collaboration with sonic agencies like us will be crucial. We know that Gen Z is going to be an important population for the brand and marketing industries. They digest everything through social media where content has to move. And we think, as soon as something moves, it needs to make a sound.
In the next 15 years we see the practice of sonic identity catching up, becoming as important as the visual world.
Creating Sense™
In an increasingly saturated world of visual and verbal stimuli, sonic identity offers brands a unique and powerful avenue to distinguish themselves. As sound is deeply ingrained in our daily experiences, a well-crafted sonic identity can enhance brand recognition, foster emotional connections, and drive consumer behaviour.
To capitalize on this opportunity, brand teams need to prioritize sonic identity as an essential component of their branding strategy. Brands must start viewing sonic identity with the same importance as visual and verbal identities and leveraging the close collaboration of brand and sonic agencies to help them build a holistic and engaging brand presence. The future of branding is not just seen and read—it is also heard.
At SDA, we support organisations big and small by creating sense™ through their brand. If you want to understand more about how we work with agencies like Sonicbrand to create holistic brand experiences, get in touch.
