Via martechseries.com – “It’s hard to think of the phrase “I’m lovin’ it” and not immediately recall the “ba-da-ba-ba-ba” of the McDonald’s jingle. It’s catchy, appealing and has been repeated so often, that, love it or hate it, it’s etched in your brain like a pop song from high school. Chances are that the sounds you hear when you power up your laptop, log into Netflix or make a Skype Call are also instantly familiar. These simple sonic signatures are easy to recall and exert a powerful influence over your emotions and behavior. Yet it’s a wonder that so many brands and products that are very good at crafting their visual image are often neglectful of defining their sound.
The concept behind sonic branding is simple. Create a unique sound or musical phrase that captures the essence of your brand, product or experience. Then repeat it…a lot. A well-crafted sonic signature can be even more important to a brand’s recognition and recall than its visual logo. No one hums a logo, whistles a tagline or sings an announcer. Sonic branding, however, lodges itself in the human mind like chewing gum stuck to the sole of your shoe.
There are two key aspects to sonic branding. Most familiar are audio logos, short sound or musical signatures that are the aural equivalent to graphic logos. Audio logos have been around for a hundred years or so. NBC introduced its famous chimes—the first audio logo awarded a U.S. trademark—in 1926. Intel, THX, HBO and T-Mobile are among the many brands whose sonic signatures have woven themselves into the public consciousness. You can most likely recall them – right now.
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Product sonification is not just for tech, manufacturing and media giants. A wide variety of B2C and B2B companies of all sizes can use customized sound to enhance their brand image and strengthen relationships with customers. Stephen Arnold Music recently created a sonic brand and sound toolkit for TradeCafe, a cloud-based transaction fulfillment platform with clients around the globe. TradeCafe’s users spend considerable time managing their commodities and inventories online, and the custom-designed sounds helps users navigate the transaction platform with timely and reliable information, while also ensuring confidence and security.”
