From Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic architecture to the sticky burrs that inspired Velcro, nature has often played a role in creative design. What can the natural world teach us about brand recognition through the creative use of sound? Let’s take a look at one of nature’s best musicians who has a knack for sonic branding – the bird…

A male bird’s song may sound like a simple melody to the casual human listener. But to a female bird, this song acts as a revealing personal profile. Just a few notes will disclose a wealth of information concerning his mental health, testosterone levels, diseases carried, etc. Unlike a guitar-strumming human singer who easily melts the hearts of his groupies, a male bird undergoes intense scrutiny when singing to a potential mate. If a bird’s song misses the mark, it’s a reflection on his character, and the female will fly off to try her luck with another singer. On the other hand, if his performance meets her expectations for a suitable partner, he has won her heart and her trust.

Like a bird’s personally revealing song, quite a bit is divulged about a company through the music and sounds they choose to represent their brand. This means a brand’s sound choices may be a liability or an asset when trying to win the hearts of consumers. If a brand’s sound is not consistent across all marketing campaigns, or inconsistent with the company’s image, the consumer will likely question the brand’s credibility and “fly away” to the next product. On the other hand, with the right music supervision (a service provided by dedicated sound consultants like soundlounge), a consistent and well-crafted sound can strengthen any brand.

In addition to a consistent sound, both birds and brands need a distinctive sound to set them apart from their respective competitors.

The Distinctive Sound of Birds and Brands

With the highly critical ear of a female bird, you would think she could easily distinguish males of her own species from males of another bird species. But some research is showing that this may not always be the case, especially in lush environments like rainforests, where many species coexist and compete for the airwaves.

Zoologist Nathalie Seddon studied the songs of male Amazonian antbirds and found that various subspecies of antbirds sing differently to make it easier for their female counterparts to identify them (Seddon 2005). These results are fascinating, because bird songs were previously thought to evolve and diverge because of a separation effect. In other words, birds develop different “accents” by being isolated from each other, like North Americans and Australians. But instead, in Seddon’s study, these birds are all in one place. Her findings promote a relatively new theory of birdsong evolution, that different songs develop out of a necessity to be uniquely identified among a rainforest full of noise.

This finding may come as no surprise to marketers, who make it their duty to ask, “What makes our brand unique?” It’s incredibly important to have an answer to this question before setting foot in the commercial jungle, where brands with a confused sound will be “outsung” by more clever marketers. Noel Franus and Martyn Ware’s presentation “Demystifying Sonic Branding and Identity” makes the point that in the natural world, as well as the advertising world, “those that innovate to be heard will thrive.” It’s true – sound can be an excellent tool for setting your brand apart from competitors. But careful decisions must also be made along the way to ensure the customer hears the company’s core values in all sound and music choices.

If your brand is struggling to find its unique sound, contact us at soundlounge. We’ll help your brand sing above the rest.

Charlie McCarron, Sound Consultant
soundlounge

Why Brands Should Listen To Birds is a post from: soundlounge

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