By Chad Cook — With more than five billion people accessing social media daily, savvy brands understand the importance of cultivating a strong social identity. They devote massive resources toward brand awareness, audience targeting, content strategy and community engagement. Yet, while they know that social platforms are critical to boosting sales and attracting new customers, many neglect one of the most effective tools for connecting with consumers: sonic branding.
Marketers often associate sonic branding with catchy mnemonics used by big brands like McDonald’s, Netflix and Intel in their advertising. But that is a very limited view of what sonic branding is and what it can do. Sonic branding is a way to build awareness and stimulate engagement across all touch points, from advertising to broadcast digital, in-person and social. And it’s not limited to members of the Fortune 500. Brands at all levels can benefit from a sonic identity that is memorable, engaging and reflective of its core values.
Sound has been scientifically proven to be deeply tied to memory and emotion. There’s a reason that certain songs stick in your head and bring back memories formed years or even decades earlier. So, it’s surprising that sonic branding is often an afterthought in marketing plans. That is especially true in social media marketing. Faced with tight deadlines and strained budgets, creative teams are often tempted to select music for their content simply because it “fits.” Unfortunately, that may result in content that is in tune with what’s trending but is out of tune with brand identity.
Effective sonic branding, by contrast, requires thoughtful strategic planning, inspired creative execution and consistent application across all media and content. Brands sometimes try to sidestep this process by licensing a popular song with a built-in connection to its target market. The trouble with that approach is that it can be prohibitively expensive, may come with legal restrictions, and is limited to the staying power of the track and the artist’s reputation.
Others may look to AI as a quick and inexpensive way to produce a novel, signature sound. The results, though, are often disappointing because the tools are hard to master and machine learning still has a long way to go to match the emotional complexity of a talented human artist. Creative teams must also consider the commercial readiness of an AI song, projected shelf life, and flexibility for future evolution — all of which are limited by current generative AI music platforms.
Sonic branding agencies offer a proven ability to translate values and emotions into memorable music or sound. A well-crafted signature sound not only accurately represents a brand, it stands the test of time and is infinitely adaptable to different media, moods and application. That doesn’t mean creating a singular piece of music to be used over and over again, but rather, creating a brand’s “musical personality” and tying all sonic decisions to it. An experienced sonic branding agency can also work with a brand to develop an audio style guide to set parameters and guidelines to ensure that the sonic branding is consistently applied.
Sonic branding may sound complicated, but in practice it can simplify a brand’s marketing through its unique ability to create alignment, engagement and connection. When it comes to the creative demands of social media, it can streamline decision-making and deliver an ownable sonic palette for brands. It can also do the emotional heavy lifting across all touch points relieving the content of the need to reinvent connection all over again. Sonic branding is a uniquely powerful tool, especially in the social space, and ought to be included in the marketing plans of every brand interested in developing deep and lasting bonds with its customers.
Chad Cook is President and Creative Director at Stephen Arnold Music (SAM). As the key creative driver for the company’s landmark approach to Sonic Branding and original music creation, Cook has produced more than 300 audio and sound design projects for television stations and networks including ABC, CBS Sports, CNN, ESPN, Comcast, HBO, AXSTV, Fox Business, Golf Channel, The Weather Channel, and such international outlets as Al Jazeera, Alhurra, Al Watan, CCTV/CGTN China, GSP Romania, TV Azteca, and HBO Asia.
