{"id":6779,"date":"2024-05-23T01:53:34","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T05:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/2024\/05\/23\/sonic-branding-a-secret-weapon-for-breaking-through-the-noise\/"},"modified":"2025-01-08T09:43:47","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T14:43:47","slug":"sonic-branding-a-secret-weapon-for-breaking-through-the-noise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/sonic-branding-a-secret-weapon-for-breaking-through-the-noise\/6779\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonic Branding: A Secret Weapon for Breaking Through the Noise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Daina Todorovic, Chief Client Officer, Sixieme Son<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s marketer finds it harder to capture the consumer\u2019s attention. Not surprising given that every day, people are exposed to between 6,000 and 10,000 brand messages<\/a>, more than the human brain can process. In today\u2019s media environments, if your brand can\u2019t be heard, it\u2019s becoming invisible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

This challenge needs to be addressed, because until you capture attention, you can\u2019t build awareness and recall. You need to use every tool at your disposal to gain attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s one secret weapon that more and more brands need to consider: sonic branding. Think of it as the essence of a brand translated into sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The first job of a sonic brand is to grab attention, and forever link your brand with a positive cue. But how to do it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Here are 6 best practices for creating a long-lasting and highly effective sonic brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Focus in on your goals <\/strong><\/h2>\n

A sonic identity only wins if it turns into a long-term asset that is recognized and associated with your brand as your visual logo. And its development deserves just as much discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Ask: Is there a particular challenge you want to address and overcome? A particular brand attribute you want to highlight? Perhaps there is market confusion between your brand and competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Or, if your organization plans to embark on a merger or acquisition, a sonic brand can help tie the companies together under a unified umbrella that expresses your brand essence. Of course, that requires bold differentiation when developing your sonic brand. Which brings us to our next best practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Be different, not derivative<\/strong><\/h2>\n

All too often when branding teams consider their sonic identities, they look at what others in their sector have created and assume that they need something similar. But that misses a key advantage of sonic branding: It has the power to distinguish a brand from the rest of the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Be different, not derivative. Go back to your core values to gain an understanding of what your team collectively wants to express. That\u2019s your starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

A word about AI: there\u2019s danger in relying on it to develop your sonic identity, but AI can be helpful in generating variations of a musical theme you\u2019ve designed. Generative AI looks at existing data to generate new pieces. It can only be derivative. But if you create a set of brand sounds for your project, and train the AI on those sounds, AI can create a tailored but on-brand pieces of musical content in no time flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Think beyond the jingles<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A sonic identity is not a short, catchy jingle for your commercials. It\u2019s an audio vocabulary that reinforces your brand promise. Yes, it can provide the background music for commercials. But it can do so much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n