In a world overflowing with visual stimuli, it’s the sounds that often leave the most lasting impression. Here we delve into the realm of sonic branding and the use of audio in marketing.
What happens to you when you hear the jingle of your favourite fast-food restaurant? What about when you hear the tune that plays when you boot up your favourite streaming platform? And what about those songs that remind you of a particular person or moment in your life, no matter how many times you hear them?
Sound has an almost unparalleled ability to evoke emotions and unearth deep-seated memories and associations, making it a powerful tool in the world of sales.
The inaugural ‘jingle’ ever broadcast is often credited to General Mills, whose infectious tune promoting “Wheaties – the finest breakfast food in the land” made its debut in the US on Christmas Eve way back in 1926.
Fast forward nearly a century, to an era where radio and podcasts are becoming increasingly popular, the realm of audio marketing and the idea of sonic branding remain relatively untapped, especially in New Zealand.
Tom Pierard of Sonic Boom, a Hawke’s Bay-based sonic branding specialist, is on a mission to change that. With a background in music education and a PhD in musical identity development, he is passionate about working with the ad industry to help them and their clients benefit from the vast possibilities that audio in marketing can offer.
Sonic branding, as Tom explains, is distinct from traditional marketing methods, especially when compared to their visual counterparts. While jingles have always played a role, modern sonic branding goes beyond simply conveying information in a catchy tune. It harnesses the power of voice, sound, and music to create a consistent brand identity across various touchpoints.
“Modern sonic branding takes advantage of fragmented media and is responsive to the way that people access any media and reinforces that brand’s emotion through sound and voice,” says Tom.
Unlike static visual branding, sonic branding offers a unique depth of emotional connection. It continually reintroduces a brand’s tone of voice in different emotional contexts, allowing brands to resonate with their audience on a profound level.
“The sonic logo is constantly being reinforced, and it can accompany actions where you are not necessarily being forced to fixate on one thing. You can close your eyes, but you can’t really close your ears in your day-to-day. There’s a lot of opportunity there for sound to accompany actions. In a seven billion dollar home speaker, wireless speaker market, there’s an opportunity for sonic logos and sonic branding to make a difference,” he says.
Sonic branding serves a multitude of purposes, ranging from elevating a brand’s distinctiveness to imbuing it with a more human touch. Creating a unique sound for a brand involves understanding its values, tone, and target audience.
The team at Sonic Boom begin this process by extracting as much information as possible about the brand’s essence and communication goals. They then craft a sonic brand that encapsulates these attributes, making sure it resonates with the demographic it is intended for.
The process of creating a sonic brand involves careful consideration of melody, instruments, and genre. Each element is chosen to convey a specific message and evoke a particular emotion. For instance, a piano might symbolise gentleness, while a banjo could evoke a sense of rustic authenticity. Genre selection is also crucial, as it connects with the ideals associated with different music styles and groups of people.
In New Zealand, the popularity of sonic branding is on the rise but is still a fairly underutilised concept, Tom says. As businesses realise the advantages of leveraging audio at every touchpoint, the potential impact becomes increasingly evident. Internationally, major agencies have been advocating for the importance of sonic branding, with renowned brands such as Coca-Cola and TikTok already capitalising on the increased brand recognition it affords.
Josh Butt, Founder and Chief Audio Officer at Ampel Audio, says there is a kind of template that can be used when creating a memorable sonic brand and usually it starts with some sort of sound that comes out of an ad.
“It has to start with a sound and it has to end with a sound,” he says. “I have no idea what a brand sounds like until I start thinking about it. Then you take into consideration the category they’re in, their tone of voice, what their brand is, what their values are, and the message that they want to put out there.”
Taking a different approach to using the power of sound as part of an advertising campaign is ASB and partner Youthline. Here the bank and the youth helpline collaborated with popular artist BENEE to create a tool in the form of a song backed by science, to help ease anxious thoughts. This initiative, though not a traditional sonic brand, showcases how commercial companies can use sound to positively influence our emotions.
By leveraging scientific data and testing results provided by AUT, BENEE and her producer, Josh Fountain, set out to compose a song incorporating proven anxiety-relieving elements, such as specific musical keys, melody structures, tempo, and chords.
Once the song was written and recorded by BENEE, it was evaluated by AUT professors to make sure it adhered to anxiety-reducing principles. This process resulted in the song called Bagels that was not only musically engaging but also emotionally soothing.
After a period of extensive research, the single Bagels emerged as a therapeutic experience that utilised the principles of sound to offer three minutes and 47 seconds of calm.
Associate Professor Mangor Pedersen from Auckland University of Technology played a pivotal role in the research and testing behind this song. In a study involving 30 young adults, the team measured brain activity and state of anxiety while participants listened to six different songs, including Bagels. The
results were compelling and Bagels emerged as being effective at reducing state anxiety and influencing brain connectivity.
The song includes several stand-out characteristics that help to relieve anxious feelings. “First, it has a slow tempo, which can help to slow down the heart rate and breathing. Second, it uses a lot of repetition, which can help to create a sense of calm and predictability. Third, it is in a major key, which is associated with feelings of happiness and well-being. Finally, it avoids harsh or jarring sounds, which can be stimulating and anxiety-inducing,” explains Mangor.
In addition, The Monkeys Aotearoa, part of Accenture Song, and New Zealand animation studio Assembly helped to create a visually calming music video for the song. The video, also designed based on scientific advice, incorporates elements like colours, shapes, and eye movements to provide a serene viewing experience, creating a holistic sensory journey.
Since its release on May 24, 2023, Bagels has garnered widespread attention and engagement. With 268,195 views on YouTube and 1,761,636 streams on Spotify at the time of writing, the song appears to have resonated deeply with its target audience, and become part of the cultural landscape.
ASB’s Chief Marketing Officer, Helen Fitzsimons, says ultimately the intention of the campaign was to raise awareness of the service that Youthline provides.
“Part of our reputation agenda is about meaningful differentiation, and that’s what this audience requires. They demand authenticity and action and transparency. You can’t just go out there advertising on a piece of plastic with a brand on it anymore, you need to actually deliver and do something useful.”
Outside the realm of a traditional campaign, this is an example of a brand creating a tool to be used in everyday life rather than interrupting it. “It feels like people are using it, and that’s quite different from just sponsorship. I think it’s a different area and different space that we’re playing in,” adds Damon Stapleton of The Monkeys.
While this specific approach might not be suitable for every campaign, it provides valuable insights into what resonates with audiences and how music can influence emotions.
The study also revealed that people’s responses to different music genres vary significantly, opening avenues for future research into the relationship between music and the brain.
“I think advertising is the old saying; ‘don’t interrupt what people are interested in, be what they’re interested in,’” Damon adds. In an age where technology and creativity combine, the lines between the two blur, and the products themselves can become tools for advertising.
ASB’s brand purpose required a unique approach tailored to specific societal challenges.
At a time where audio media is thriving, leveraging the power of sound is powerful strategy to ensure brands are heard and remembered amongst the noise of modern life.
This article was first published in our December/January 2023/2024 issue.
