Sonic Branding: A Powerful Marketing Tool Not Well Understood

When done well a sonic logo conjures up an instant association with the advertiser Think Farmer39s Insurance39s quotWe Are Farmersquot NBC39s threenote tones McDonald39s quotI39m Lovin39 Itquot and Liberty Mutual39s eponymous anthem The best audio signatures are short sticky and memorable Consumers sing them back and recognize them instantly That39s what makes an audio signature highly effectivequotSonic branding is the audible equivalent of a brand39s visual identity A sonic brand could be made up of multiple elements including an audio logo and functional soundsquot explained Scott Simonelli CEO of audio analytics firm Veritonic which measures sonic brandingWhile that sounds great pardon the pun many media industry professionals don39t fully understand sonic branding and why it matters It39s hard to leverage a marketing tool if you39re not up to speedIn a recent Myers Report survey media agency staffers were asked if they could explain industry innovations including sonic branding realtime bidding the metaverse and cryptocurrency to their clients and colleagues or if theyamp8217d need a crash course to make an accurate presentationAmong 25 emerging trends more respondents said theyamp8217d need quotCliff Notesquot to understand and convey the importance of sonic branding than any other category including blockchain crypto NFTs and DSPSSPRTB Across each demographic group measured sonic branding ranked as the least understoodquotThere is an explosion of audio going on and many industry professionals need an education about sonic branding what it is how it works and how to execute against itamp8221 noted Stacey Lynn Schulman Marketplace Intelligence Lead for The Myers Report and Principal at Hi Human InsightShe noted that sonic branding isnamp8217t just a marketing concept itamp8217s rooted in neuroscience amp8220When you hear that signature sound your brain creates an image puts the sound in context and makes it very personalamp8221 she addedThat connection is marketing gold When listeners identify a sonic logo brand recall from radio ads shoots up an average 17 and podcast ads increases by 14 according to a justreleased report from Veritonic and Audacy Audio signatures boost purchase intent by 6 on radio ads and 2 on podcast ads the survey also foundIn earlier decades radio jingles were loved for their kitschiness which made them so effective said Pierre Bouvard Chief Insights Officer at Cumulus Media and Westwood One Sounds like AlkaSeltzeramp8217s famous amp8220Plop plop fizz fizzamp8221 became brand anthems These early efforts helped build brand recognition establish consumer loyalty and keep a company topofmindquotAs a marketer one of the most important things is to be known before you39re needed You do that by finding clever ways to be remembered and that39s what jingles doquot Bouvard said quotThey work They might not be posh but they drive business effectivelyquotRecently Americans39 obsession with audio has motivated media agencies to give audio advertising a fresh look Statistics in Edison Research39s 2022 Infinite Dial report and from Nielsen39s Audio Today report tell the story Among American survey respondents93 of adults 18 use radio monthly67 use online audio weekly26 listen to podcasts weekly35 have at least one smart speakerLed by insurance companies food and beverage brands home improvement giants and auto parts companies sonic brands are everywhere But not all audio logos are created equal Veritonic identifies four essential ingredients for a successful campaignFirst a sonic logo needs to identify the brand Veritonic39s research shows that it is difficult for listeners to make associations without naming the company The company39s findings show that consumers are 75 times more likely to correctly identify a company by its sonic brand when the name was usedquotYou have to say the name of your brandquot Bouvard said quotThe biggest mistake is people creating a sonic brand or audio logo that doesn39t say their name Imagine not putting your brand39s name in a visual logoquotTech giant Intel is routinely cited as an early adopter of sonic branding for its multinote signature But Bouvard said the logo is flawed because it doesn39t include the company39s name When Veritonic played the sound for its panel only 13 of respondents could identify it as Intel39s he noted quotThat39s marketing malpractice because they didn39t say their namequot Bouvard saidThe second key ingredient for sonic success is a memorable melody Audio logos are two times more identifiable if they include a melody according to Veritonic research Including music increases purchase intent by 5 and lifts brand recall by 4Third sonic logos should be used across media channels not just audio For instance Liberty Mutual and Home Depot feature the same audio signature across radio TV and digital media ads quotWhen you do that it creates a unified creative asset that spans mediaquot Bouvard explained quotIt becomes a distinctive brand assetquotFinally it pays not to rush into sonic branding careful considerations need to be made Simonelli cautioned quotIt39s critical that brands embrace the creative process of translating their visual brand into sonic elements remainingamp160open to suggestions trial and error and most importantly dataquot Simonelli said quotDepending on how large the brand and how many assets they are looking to create the process could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few monthsquotAs marketers dive into sonic branding Schulman recommends agencies give audio priority in the creative and campaign planning process Too often she noted audio is an afterthought to video and digital creative which is a missed opportunityOnce marketers digest the massive listening and embrace a sonic strategy they39ll see returns quotAn audiofirst approach is so important because audio can be so impactfulquot Schulman said quotThe realization that that39s where consumers are and where they39re spending their time is making people sit up and listenquotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Sonic Branding: A Powerful Marketing Tool Not Well Understood

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Alli Romano

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