“A brand goes beyond a logo, and is the vehicle in which the essence of a company can be expressed in any touch-point customers, stakeholder and the general public interact with.”
Branding: it has been a buzz word in business for a long time. Many global companies now invest a substantial amount of their budget on it, and new companies spend even more to create and develop a memorable brand for themselves. A brand goes beyond a logo, and is the vehicle with which the essence of a company can be expressed to any touchpoint customers, stakeholders and the general public interact with.
Today’s media, with the help of the Internet and the rise of the smartphone, has become extremely accessible, and now companies jump at the chance to grab your attention in every platform possible. Video is by far the most popular medium, not surprisingly so. Online video streaming platforms like YouTube have over 4 billion viewers on a daily basis. The video experience is quick, clear and immersive, which is why so many people use these services to access a wealth of information, like learning how to play the guitar, finding a historic clip about World War II, or watching a piano playing cat.
These video streaming services have been adopted by many companies, creating official accounts and regularly posting content in order to reach a young, fast-moving audience with little patience and an even smaller attention span. Visual branding is key to helping the viewer properly connect the video back to your company. But there is another element you can use to cement the brand into the video medium: audio branding.
Similar to brandmarks and logos, audio branding is essentially a set of musical notes that represent your company sonically. It has existed for many years. How do you identify a church by sound? Church bells and organs, of course! The Muslim call to prayer is one of the most distinct sonic representations of a religion. Radio stations cannot rely on visual branding over the airwaves, so they use jingles to distinguish themselves from other radio stations. Who in Bahrain does not recognize the distinct (and in my honest opinion, dated) “Radio Bahraiiiiin! The sunshine soooound!” All three major telecommunications companies in Bahrain own an audio signature for their brand. In television advertising, you can instantly recognize the which company’s ad is on by catching the last piece of audio, without looking at the screen. It has become a definitive part of these companies’ identities. This can also be said about many global brands and their advertisements, in almost every major industry.
“It has existed for many years. How do you identify a church by sound? Church bells and organs, of course! The Muslim call to prayer is one of the most distinct sonic representations of a religion.”
The possibilities of audio branding are endless. After carefully developing your key sound signature, you can use the core musical notes to create unique tracks that clearly represent the brand and can help cement your brand within any context you require. Developing a video advertisement for an Arabian Desert-themed game? You can use the core notes to create an Egyptian percussion instrumental with oud melodies, while still retaining the identity. Organizing a corporate event for a product launch? You can develop background lounge music around the core sonic signature, remaining functionally subtle, while retaining your identity in the event’s atmosphere.
Audio branding is powerful. It is not an absolute science, but it follows an identity exploration process much like the visual brand building we commonly see in today’s market. Own your sound, before someone else does!