Let’s start with Coke. These guys have asked the public to send in recordings of themselves mimicking the sound of opening, pouring and enjoying a bottle of the famous fizzy drink, with the aim of later broadcasting these on TV. A forward-thinking and innovative approach – well-placed in a world where social media and user-generated content rule the roost. But what’s the long-term value to Coke of converting this one-off, tactical execution into something which has much more important ramifications? It’s not the first time Coke has used the ’sound of enjoyment’ concept, so lots of points for consistency. Coca-Cola has a long tradition of using music in advertising and the idea that the sound of the brand could come directly from the product itself is an unusual one. But does the fizz of a can opening and liquid being poured onto ice really capture the whole sound of the brand? Is it enough to differentiate it from other beverages out there and, more significantly, does is resonate on a meaningful level with Coke’s target consumers?
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In sonic branding, much thought and effort goes into finding the perfect sounds to fit a brand’s style. Part of this process involves breaking these sounds into their essential ingredients and critiquing them: “That trumpet is a shade too mellow. Can we find one with more punch?” or “We need to decide if we want a brighter voice or a darker voice.”

Every musical detail counts in the advertising world. Think of the Intel Inside sound, one of the most memorable audio logos of all time – only three seconds long. Creator Walter Werzowa needed a keen ear to carefully design each sound. In the first note alone, he used over 20 different instruments and sounds!

Listen to the Intel sonic logo

Did you hear the anvil, tambourine, and electric spark? If you’re like most listeners, probably not (we’ll get to the reason for this later). But Werzowa hand-picked each of these sounds for a reason. He knew their unique sound “flavours” and was able to mix them perfectly into a memorable audio logo.

We can all tell when an instrument sounds right or wrong in a certain context. This is the “I’ll know it when I hear it” approach, which drives many sound branding decisions. But when it comes down to a few seconds of sound design, it’s important to understand why an instrument sounds mellow, punchy, bright, or dark.

With a little science and an open ear, we’ll explore some of the basic “spices” of sound undiscovered by the average listener – overtones.

Can you sing more than one note at the same time?

Tuvan musician Kongar-ol Ondar employs an age-old Tuvan tradition of overtone singing to sing two, three, or four notes at the same time in this clip from the Late Show with David Letterman:

“How did he do that?!” you might be thinking. Let’s take a closer look at overtones – Read more…

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. Read more…

We all know that brands love music but if they are to use sound to emotionally engage with consumers then understanding exactly how it affects them has to be at the very heart of sound branding. While great luminaries like Dr Daniel Levitin – Professor of Psychology and Behavioural Neuroscience and author of the groundbreaking This is Your Brain on Music – have been considering this on an intellectual level for many years, agencies still appear to be dragging their heels when it comes to putting a science to the art of sound branding. But last week, Levitin’s scientific paper Life Soundtrack (commissioned by Philips Consumer Electronics in 2007) re-emerged in the somewhat unlikely format of an article in Men’s Health Magazine. According to the report, music affects the human brain in a huge variety of ways, allowing us to utilise certain types or genres of music to help complete different tasks. This is supported by consumer analysis carried out by Entertainment Media Research (EMR) which found that an impressive 82 per cent of us use music to boost our spirits. It also revealed that 75 per cent of people use music when they are engaged in a physical activity from housework to the gym and even sex! Read more…

Is the jingle an endangered species?  Although classic tunes for brands like Shake and Vac, Smash and Mars stuck in your head for days at a time, straightforward jingles are few and far between in today’s advertisements. Perhaps the consumer has become too sophisticated for those cheesy (but admittedly catchy) tunes, and they now demand a more subtle, but no less consistent brand sound. Pieces of music like ‘Lakme’ for British Airways can have the same, if not more impact, than those old jingles, by re-enforcing a brand’s image and creating a sonic identity. Read more on BBC News.

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The threat of musical stagnation can be a creative band’s greatest fear. In striving to grow musically, creatively and commercially, musicians may feel they need to change their sound and or style of making music. However by doing this, a band may often cast-aside the musical elements that captivated their fans in the first place. So how can a band hold on to their musical equity and at the same time continue to evolve? Read more…

The ‘sound of the brand’ is more than the melody within eight octaves. It is not just about genre or lyrics. Nor does it necessarily relate to the choice of artist or a musical identity. The sound of the brand is about values, behaviour and how this is communicated. It is about reaching and engaging with the emotional touch points of the listener – a process that requires a deeper understanding than embracing their contextual touch points.

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In the summer of 2007, dance duo Groove Armada sent shockwaves through the music production industry by opting out of a deal with a traditional record label. In April 2008, the duo, who have become a household name thanks in part to the use of their music in commercials, instead signed-up with Bacardi making them the first mainstream group to turn to a major brand for investment. Considering the majority of digital music is downloaded for free, through the expansive networks of user to user file shares – it is not difficult to imagine that as record companies’ profits suffer amid the current economic squeeze, the emerging trend of band-brand partnerships will continue to develop.

The one-year deal has sparked a mixed reaction from fans. Although the majority are in support of the partnership and feel the pair is a good brand fit, some have expressed surprise that the group would choose to associate so freely with such a major commercial corporation. But speaking to the BBC, the band’s Andy Cato defended the move. “You’ve always needed big business to get your music out there,” he explained. “That help used to be major record labels, now it’s all kinds of different things. If you say one corporate pound is any more or less corporate than another, then you’re wrong,” he added. “What is a record label if it’s not a commercial brand?” So how long will it take for other global brands to become the major investing foundation of the music industry? In some ways the ball has already started rolling. Read more…

The day of reckoning has finally arrived. Today, the much-lauded Barack Obama brand machine, which has been working around the clock to inspire and influence a global audience, will finally stand up and be counted. And so far, so good, with recent figures from CBS and the New York Times suggesting that 80 per cent of Americans feel positive about the next four years under the former Illinois senator. But while few would cast doubt on Obama’s personal sentiment during his stirring speeches, his success is by no means one solely of his own making.

Like all politicians, Obama has marketed himself to the max and earlier this week uniquely demonstrated the invaluable impact of a relatively new kind of branding. This technique uses music to represent a brand’s core beliefs and values – it’s about finding the sound of the brand. While we are all exposed to music in commercials on a regular basis, Sunday’s We Are One concert held at Washington DC’s Lincoln Memorial, was a first-class demonstration of the importance of music branding on a different scale. The event proved to those in attendance and indeed, the rest of the world, how sound can not only trigger strong emotions but target any number of different groups and simultaneously unite them.

So what is the “Sound of Obama”? Read more…

Radiohead, one of the UK’s most coveted bands (and until recently a reluctant source for synchronisation) have allowed one of their tracks to be used in the National Coalition for the Homeless’s most recent commercial.  The use of Radiohead’s “MK 1” on the NCH commercial titled “It Can Happen to Anyone”, is a subtle and effective marriage of band and brand. However, even an avid listener of Radiohead might find it challenging to identify the music.  Drawing the connection is not what the NCH is after; instead it undoubtedly relies on the emotional elements of the track which make the sound fit to picture naturally – and most importantly, to brand.

But why use Radiohead?  How does it work?  What does it tell us about sonic branding? Read more…