Building An Audio Brand Strategy, By Interbrand’s Beatriz Diego

 By: Beatriz Diego, Associate Director Strategy, Interbrand

The importance of sound 

For me, the brand is like a gemstone, something very precious to take care of, with different facets that together build the brilliance of the brand strategy.

Traditionally, the brand strategy was the essential guideline to inspire visual expression (logo and visual universe) and verbal identity (tone of voice, manifesto), but the brand could be connected to new dimensions, exploring the five senses.

Hearing is key to creating memories and emotions around a brand. In fact, making audio branding, according to Harvard Business Review, is “a powerful tool able to generate differentiation, create preference, build trust, and even increase sales”.  However, this sense has been disregarded and underrated in branding strategies.

A study conducted by Leicester University in 2008 showed that music (aligned with brand strategy) was 96% more likely to be remembered by the consumer, in comparison to brands without an audio branding strategy.

To develop an audio branding strategy is not just to compose original music, but also to create something that is unique and distinct from the rest of the competitors; consistent and aligned with our brand strategy; relevant and connected to our target’s desires and expectations.

Music can make us feel from hate to love, experiencing all the nuances in between. That is why we can create a soundtrack for our brand that expresses its DNA, and more importantly its soul.

How to build an iconic and successful Audio Branding Strategy

Audio Branding is the discipline that expands the strategy of a brand using sound: the creation of a unique melody to identify the brand.

Or as Charles Gadsdon, Global Director of Growth, MassiveMusic Amsterdam, says “A holistic approach to a brand’s use of music and sound across all relevant touch points.”

While in the visual facet, we develop the visual identity, in the sound aspect, we carry out the audio identity (also known as sonic branding, sound branding to name some terminologies).

It is a matter of collaboration and co-creation, bringing parties together to make a symphony in which the brand consultancy, the client, and the audio branding agency are perfectly orchestrated, each with their own part to play.

For example, in a live project, we, Interbrand, play the role of the conductor, who brings the parts of an orchestra together to create the symphony and the agency acts as the music expert, who delivers all the instrumentals, voice and sounds the project needs.  As the decision maker, the client should be involved from the very beginning to be sure of capturing all the important nuances such as the regional aspects.

Similar to the definition of a visual identity, to develop a sonic branding we should follow a comprehensive process:

1- Understand the context, competitors and customers. This means to evaluate the arena in which the brand is competing, the cultural aspects, the desires of the customers, and even to embrace the own story of the brand. It is critical to involve the client from the very beginning by co-creating an exhaustive briefing.

2- Craft a concept within the brand strategy framework. Once we have carried out a exhaustive evaluation, and taken the brand strategy as our starting point, we are in a good position to develop the creative concept. Beyond being unique and engaging, it should accomplish the brand objectives, and, of course, the business objectives. So, once again, the client will play a key role in assuring that the goals are accomplished.

3- Define and rollout the audio identity. The last phase of the process is about fine tuning the audio identity. Not only the audio-logo, but also the rest of the elements that compose the identity. Of course, this is the moment in which we implement it in the different touchpoints: from retail, to call-centers, digital devices and so on. It is essential to create an audio identity able to expand to new domains as the brand is a living element.

To better understand the importance of sound, I challenge you to see an advertisement without music or changing the mood of the melody, you will see that the feeling is absolutely different. 

Moreover, it is impossible to talk about Intel, Microsoft, Apple, to name some emblematic brands, without repeating the audio logo in our brain again and again. So, please, from now on, let’s think of branding as the holistic approach able to create feelings, experiences, and memories, and for that, audio branding is indispensable.