What is sonic branding?
Sonic branding is the strategic use of sound to express and identify a brand. It includes sonic logos, brand music, voice, the sounds of products and apps, and the music a brand licenses for its advertising. Done well, it becomes a single system that makes a brand recognisable wherever people hear it.
Is sonic branding the same as audio branding?
Yes. Sonic branding, audio branding, sound branding and sonic identity all describe the same discipline. “Sonic branding” became the industry's generic term early on, largely because it sounded better than “sound”.
What is a sonic logo?
A sonic logo, sometimes called a mnemonic or audio logo, is a short, distinctive piece of sound that signs off a brand, the way a visual logo does on screen. The best are a few seconds long, built on a melody, and flexible enough to be played by any instrument in any context.
What are the elements of a sonic identity?
Three core types of sound can carry a brand: voice, ambience and music. A complete sonic identity usually includes a sonic logo, a longer brand theme, a palette of instruments and textures, interface and product sounds, guidance on voice, and guidelines for choosing licensed music.
Why does sonic branding matter?
Music and sound are machines that generate emotion. They reach people when they aren't looking at a screen, they carry feeling faster than words or pictures, and they are remembered. Memorability comes from frequency, recency and relevance: a brand that sounds the same every time it is heard builds a place in memory that a visual logo alone can't.
Why does melody matter so much?
A melody is distinctive, ownable and flexible. It can be arranged for an orchestra, a solo guitar or a phone notification and still be recognised. That flexibility lets one idea work across every touchpoint, and it gives a brand an asset with long-term value. More on melody.
Who uses sonic branding?
Any brand that is heard: in advertising, in apps and products, in stores, on hold, in cars, at events and on voice assistants. Sonicbrand's clients have included Shell, DHL, LEGO, Riyadh Air, stc and CEER.
What does a sonic branding project involve?
Typically: understanding the brand and its audience, defining what it should sound like, composing and testing ideas, recording the chosen work, then building it into a system of assets and guidelines that agencies and product teams can use. The most successful projects bring the client into the studio, because hearing the work being made builds real emotional investment in it.
How long does a sonic branding project take?
It depends on the scope. A sonic logo and theme can be created in a few months; a full system covering products, environments and advertising, like the one Sonicbrand built for CEER, can run for well over a year.
How much does sonic branding cost?
Costs vary with scope, the number of assets and touchpoints, and the rights involved. The more useful question is value: a well-made melodic identity can serve a brand for decades and across every channel.
Should a brand buy or license its sonic identity?
Both are possible. Licensing, often for a defined term, can give a brand exactly the rights it needs at a lower upfront cost. Buyouts are right for some brands. The decision should follow how and where the brand plans to use the music.
How do you measure whether sonic branding works?
Through recognition and attribution research (do people know whose sound it is?), through how consistently the assets are used across touchpoints, and through the same brand and sales measures used for any brand investment.
What is the difference between sonic branding and music supervision?
In practice, very little. Sonic branding creates the music and sound a brand owns; music supervision finds and clears the music a brand licenses. Both answer the same question: what should this brand sound like? Brands are best served when the two are planned together. Read more.
Do brands need a brand voice for AI and voice assistants?
Increasingly, yes. In voice-led and agent-led interactions there is no screen and no visual logo. A brand's sound and its voice become its identity. Choosing that voice means defining the character behind it and matching it to vocal attributes such as pitch, pace, accent and tone. A five-step method.
What was the first book on sonic branding?
Sonic Branding: An Introduction by Daniel M. Jackson, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2003. About the book.
Where did sonic branding come from?
Sonic branding grew from long-established practices in advertising, radio and film. As a named discipline it took shape around the turn of the millennium. Daniel M. Jackson founded Sonicbrand, the UK's first music branding agency, in 1999 and wrote the first book on the subject in 2003.
How do I choose a sonic branding agency?
Listen to the work first. Look for melodic, distinctive assets that have been used consistently over time, experience across both composition and licensing, a clear process for involving you, and the ability to deliver a system, not just a jingle. How to brief one.
Where can I hear examples of sonic branding?
Sonicbrand's work for Shell, DHL, LEGO, Riyadh Air, CEER and others is at sonicbrand.com.