The Power of Sonic Branding: Why Audio Is An Important Branding Tool

Sonic branding, also known as audio branding or sound branding, uses sound and music to create a distinct and memorable identity for a brand, campaign, or product. Although the idea of using sound for advertising and branding isn’t particularly new (think of traditional sung radio jingles), changes in technology and the increase of varying media platforms have seen audio become an integral part of a successful marketer’s toolkit.

Here at New Noise Audio, we understand the impact of a re-make of a famous song (or re-record) to benefit a short-term radio or TV campaign. However, in the long term, we believe that crafting and producing solid sound brand guidelines with audio to match, will certainly benefit a brand for many years to come. Here’s why we feel sonic branding is essential:

Boosts Brand Equity

Having a solid brand sound or sonic logo can enhance your brand’s image and brand awareness, generating positive effects on consumer recall, familiarity and salience, as well as fostering brand equity and value. Creative director Sallie Allen at Harvard Business School says: “Brand awareness and knowledge form the foundation for consumer-brand relationships that develop engaged communities and create meaning in consumers’ lives. It’s just one step in the brand equity-building process.” Creating positive brand equity influences all areas of a business, from increased sales conversions and brand loyalty to market value.

Improves Consumer Connection

It’s no secret that sound and music have a direct impact on our emotions (Patrik Juslin study), which has been found to improve the connection consumers feel to your business. This can be used to your advantage when considering how you want your consumers to feel when listening to your advert. Does your chosen music evoke feelings of excitement, action, professionalism or relaxation?

According to an IPSOS study in 2020, the more sensory input (audio, visual etc) an advert uses, the more chances it’ll be able to ‘refresh mental networks’ to later influence consumer choice and improve brand attention. The research also found that creative adverts including sonic branding were a staggering 8.53 times more likely to yield a higher performance for brand attention.

"Creative adverts featuring sonic branding are 8.53 times more likely to perform higher on brand attention."

Multi-Platform Consistency

With so many audio-based platforms to choose from these days - such as voice assistants, podcasts and other digital streaming services - consistency across your chosen broadcast outlets is crucial. By having a cohesive sonic branding on each of your chosen marketing channels, over time, the repetition (and frequency of an ad) is said to be particularly effective on audiences. Studies show that it can take around 7 listens of the same advert before a consumer takes action.

We like to advise our clients to take the time to create a sound branding identity involving multiple coordinated audio layers or options - such as a sonic logo, music bed, stings, stagers, instrumentals and or voice-over. By ensuring you have many available audio options (brand assets) from the same creative idea. Not only will this sound slick and professional, but it also means you’ll have more audio options to weave into your campaign story, whilst your output remains homogenous.

Set Yourselves Apart From The Competition

If your client or brand hasn’t explored the power of sound, now is a great time to start. Developing a sonic branding strategy can upgrade your marketing efforts exponentially, as well as creating a lasting impression that resonates with audiences far beyond visuals alone.

Looking to create a sonic branding identity? Contact our team for more information.