Last week we brought you Coke: The J.S. Bach of Brands. Time now to highlight Audi, who have certainly been taking a few notes from the master of Romantic opera: Richard Wagner.

Wagner, arguably one of the most brilliant and insane composers of his time, built his reputation on epic operas that lasted well beyond the attention span of most listeners today. His infamous Der Ring des Nibelungen, which took him 26 years to complete, clocks in at around 15 hours of performance time! You might imagine audiences would drift off after the first few hours, but how could they with ballistic themes like the legendary ‘Ride of the Valkyries’?

So what do Wagner’s epic dramas have to do with the 30-second commercials Audi has been putting out lately?

Turns out they both use musical devices known as ‘leitmotifs’. A leitmotif is a recurring theme that represents a certain idea, emotion, or character. Leitmotifs can be heard everywhere from Star Wars to The Who’s Quadrophenia to the Final Fantasy video game series. Though Wagner didn’t coin the phrase ‘leitmotif’, he used them extensively as building blocks for his operas. He referred to these themes as ‘guides-to-feeling’ and believed he could convey complex emotional ideas by combining and developing these basic motifs throughout a piece of music.

Audi, as we’ve mentioned before, have been doing something quite Wagnerian with their brand’s sound. They’ve been busy recording instrumental riffs, vocal melodies, heartbeats, even noises from the cars themselves to create their own unique ‘sound style guide’. They can then draw from this palette of themes to compose soundtracks for their future commercials. Just like Wagner, Audi are creating logical frameworks for their music, in hopes that they can more effectively tug at the consumer’s heartstrings.

Will we ever hear a 15-hour Audi opera? Let’s hope not. But if any brand is going to spawn a cult following of music theory nerds, it’s Audi.

Charlie McCarron, Sound Consultant
Matt Lee, Music Supervisor
soundlounge

After finding out about Coca-Cola’s clever injection of their own sonic logo in K’naan’s World Cup song “Wavin’ Flag”, many of our readers called Coke out as being sneaky and/or cheeky. So we at soundlounge are here in defense of their brilliant (if a bit devilish) sonic branding strategy.

In the brand-sphere, Coke have proven to be masters of this kind of “audio watermarking” – subtly embedding their brand’s sound in the music of their advertisements. But the idea of a sound signature is hardly new. In fact, the original master of audio watermarking lived and died three centuries ago: J.S. Bach.

Most composers think long and hard about the structure of their music. But Bach took it to an extreme new level. As both a musical and mathematical genius, he composed pieces so intricate and layered that scholars today still find secret meanings in his work. Some say he used the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 8, 13…) as guides for his compositions.

But his most famous hidden message is just four notes: B-flat, A-natural, C-natural, and B-natural. In the original German spelling…B, A, C, H!

It’s the Bach motif! It appears in so many of his pieces that scholars agree it’s there for a reason. It was Bach’s way of “signing” his compositions. Was it vanity? Or was it just a quirky sense of humor? We can’t be sure, but whatever his reason, this recurring theme connects his pieces on a deeper level. It might not be as obvious (or catchy) as Coke’s audio watermark in “Wavin’ Flag”, but Bach’s audio watermark is one of the most popular of all time. Over 409 works by 330 composers have used Bach’s motif in memorial to this brilliant man.

Is Coke taking a few notes from Bach? Since the start of their Open Happiness campaign, they’ve “given” their melody to dozens of international music superstars. K’naan is just the most recent in a long list of musicians to use Coke’s motif.

But “Wavin’ Flag” has seen success far beyond any of the other Coke-watermarked songs. The beauty of this for Coke is that they own this hit-single melody. They can reuse it in their advertising without any licensing fees, unlike say, the McDonald’s/Timberlake “I’m Lovin’ It” scenario. Ideally for Coke, people will hear their melody in the next Coca-Cola commercial and get all nostalgic about that fun song from the 2010 World Cup.

If any brand comes close to musical genius, it’s Coke. Will their melody last for three centuries though? We (probably) won’t be around to report on it, but don’t hold your breath…

Charlie McCarron, Sound Consultant
Matt Lee, Music Supervisor
soundlounge

“Films are 50 percent visual and 50 percent sound.” –David Lynch

Even the most average brand has its own Corporate Identity Manual. Effectively pages upon pages upon pages of visual style guidelines. Which typeface to use, how to not screw up the logo, which Pantone colors will sell the most hamburgers, etc. Visual branding has been taken to almost ridiculous extremes, as evidenced by the infamous Pepsi rebranding guide.

But if David Lynch is right, and sound accounts for half of a film experience, why haven’t brand managers been obsessing over their music and audio choices? Where are the pages upon pages upon pages of sound style guides?

It would seem that music historically has been selected on a needs to basis – ‘We just need a bit of music here to support this narrative or message.’ One-off music ideas that work for one execution. But before we get run down by the crush of creatives defending their decisions, a few questions to muse. Does this approach work? Or are brands actually creating some form of audio schizophrenia by changing their sound with each new campaign? Most importantly, can you stand in the kitchen and recognize the brand just from what you hear?

Whilst many advertising agencies still treat sound branding as a dark art, it would seem that smart brands are beginning to realize the potential of a sound strategy.

Audi has been thinking quite a bit about the sound of their brand for a few years now. They have used the heartbeat for their sonic logo (the audio sign off at the end of a commercial). The original was created by Milo Heller in Hamburg. It was later given a facelift by Metadesign. The newest version has been created by S12 in Munich.

The S12 guys have apparently developed a unique palette of instruments and sounds to draw from, just like a color scheme in a visual style guide. In the video below you’ll hear some of the sounds they’ve claimed as Audi-esque: a steady heartbeat, a breath, a piano:

By narrowing their set of musical building blocks, they’re hoping to create a consistent brand sound for their otherwise consistent brand image. The end goal, of course, is for the audience to hear that heartbeat and think Audi.

When brands develop a sonic logo and start talking about this as their sound identity it has to be a step forward. The challenge is persuading them that a sonic logo is merely a syllable in the whole sound identity language. Just as no self-respecting brand thinks they are done with just their visual logo, there are whole new sound frontiers to be crossed after the sonic logo. What about contextual use, or adapting sound to meet the needs of cultural differences, or evaluating how it is working, or its contribution to ROI or even the possibility of trademarking their sound?

When Stephen King, Head of Planning at J Walter Thompson in the 70’s, first addressed the concept and importance of  visual branding – yes it is only 40 years old – I am sure he was met with similar resistance as the sound branders of today. But who could have ever have predicted that using consistent methodology and frameworks, we would be able to differentiate one brown fizzy drink from another and understand lifestyle? Or from the shareholders perspective, build something where a visual logo is valued in the billions of dollars.

When other great luminaries in the Advertising world like Sir John Hegarty of BBH agree with David Lynch in their appreciation of the role of sound, can brands really afford to leave these pages of their CI manual blank?

Audi are already revved up and way ahead of their competition.

Ruth Simmons, CEO
soundlounge

Thinking about working on your brand’s sound? Watch this space for the pros and cons of creating a sound style guide.

Silence can be deadly, especially when it’s a hybrid car sneaking up behind you. So for the first time in history, automakers are working to create synthetic engine noise. And they might start calling on everyone from sound designers to film composers to music supervisors for the sounds of these new cars.

Sound like science fiction? Just take a peek at this Batmobile-like hybrid from Fisker Automotive:

Watch on YouTube

The cool part is that this car’s “takeoff” sound came from a set of external speakers. In theory, you could replace this sound with anything you want, just like changing a cell phone’s default ring. Will customizable engine sounds be the next “ringtone” craze? Will we one day download our car’s tones from iTunes? Will artists of the future collect royalties on mileage?

There are obviously some legal hurdles before we hear anything too unique on the road. But the door is currently wide open for automakers to experiment with new sounds. It’s only a matter of time before the big brands will be racing to create the coolest-sounding electric car. What a fun time to be in the audio branding business!

Charlie McCarron, Sound Consultant
soundlounge

Special thanks to @soundseller for pointing out the Fisker Karma Hybrid video.

The very first sonic logo I heard was at 12 weeks gestation. It was my mother’s heartbeat. The second was her voice. These two simple sounds gave me a sense of self and my first, albeit hazy, understanding of the world outside. With these audio clues, I could tell not only where my mother was but also whether her surroundings were exciting or calm, happy or sad, dangerous or safe. I even heard my mother’s language and imitated it in my own cries. From the moment I was born, I was able to recognise like-minded spirits simply from the sounds that I heard.

But I was no baby genius. This ability to detect subtle changes in mood, geography, safety and hostility just by listening is a survival skill inherent in us all. The truth is that sound is one of the most sophisticated communication tools that we possess and one that neuroscientists are just beginning to understand.

We are physiologically programmed to respond to nature. Most of us find the sound of the sea very soothing, and not just because it reminds us of holidays. Its frequency of 12 cycles per minute is actually the same as the breathing frequency of a sleeping human. Birdsong also promotes feelings of well-being. We know instinctively that when the birds are singing we are safe; when they stop, we get worried. BP have recently installed birdsong soundscapes in their toilets as part of their campaign of stimulating a sense of well being and calm for their motorist customers. Check out the number of garages that play heavy rock. As my colleague Julian Treasure remarks – if motorists are listening to sounds like that, are they ever going to drive within the speed limit?

So if getting close to nature is one way to connect with humans very quickly are brands using these stimuli to connect with consumers? The answer is yes.

Take MGM. Nothing says louder that I am ‘king of the jungle’ than the roar of a lion. In a time of intense competition and a city that felt like a human jungle, Metro Goldwyn Meyer adopted the lion’s roar as their logo.

But one brand takes us right back to Mama. Check out Audi’s sonic logo blatantly based on the human heartbeat. The ultimate endorsement of safety and life itself. Where’s my dummy?

Ruth Simmons, CEO
soundlounge