With sonic branding, you can use sound to define your brand identity and reach out to your audience. An increasing number of marketers have realised its importance, however not everyone knows exactly how to embrace it.
Here are some tips that can help you get started on sonic branding:
- Jingles for your video advertising and commercials are well-known sonic branding tools. If you come up with a very memorable jingle, your brand becomes much more well-known.
- You can play a unique theme before each podcast, YouTube video or ad, to signify your distinct brand character and to denote how the ad is connected to your company.
- You can add unique clicking sounds as visitors navigate around your website. You can do the same thing with your apps.
- If you manufacture electronic devices, you can have them play a short but distinct tune. Each one can then confirm the authenticity of your devices.
- You can also define the brand through the music you play in-store. The songs you play can cater to a unique demographic. You can focus on music that teenagers like, or what a particular group of people will prefer during a specific time of day. So if you’re selling punk fashion, you should obviously play punk music.
What this means is that you need to understand your audience clearly. You should have a very good idea of what music your customers like to hear. If you’re appealing to kids while you yourself are in your 50s, then you better do some real research on what kids are listening to these days.
The same goes if you’re holding an event. At your event, the music you play will be subconsciously associated with your brand identity. If you’re catering to older customers and selling something “classy” like wine, paintings, and elegant furniture, then you can perhaps go with classical music. The tone of the music and the sounds you use must match the character of the brand and products you’re selling.
Just remember that certain instruments have different character traits. The sound of a piano offers a very different feel compared to a brass trumpet or an electric guitar.
The most memorable sound bites are short and sweet, in the same way a logo doesn’t have to be large and detailed. Often a few notes in a few seconds will do just fine. It doesn’t have to be a 5-minute song.
For your podcasts, website, electronic devices, events, and stores, you should make sure that your sounds and music are consistent. The music doesn’t have to be the same all the time, but the character of the sound and music must be similar.
In many ways, sonic branding is very similar to visual marketing. There’s a need for consistency and choosing the right materials for your intended market. We highly recommend that you engage the service of an audio marketing expert so you can pick the right notes for your sonic branding efforts. Then it’s more happy days and much more smiles from your target audience 🙂
