Sonic branding is one of the most commonly used marketing techniques today. Think about all the advertisements that you see on your television and streaming devices. How many of them had jingles or sounds that you recognize and associate with a brand? All these sounds have sunk into your subconscious mind without you even knowing it. That is the power of sonic branding. It has resulted in advertisers coming up with new sounds and music that will stick with the average consumer.

Using sonic branding in your marketing efforts can benefit your company in many ways, such as helping consumers recognize your company’s brand with just a sound. We will talk about those benefits and how you can choose the right sonic logo for your company.

What is Sonic Branding?

Sonic branding might sound like a complex term, but it can be found and heard almost anywhere these days. This is a type of branding which involves assigning a specific tune, sound, or jingle to a brand that reinforces brands’ identities. It is a very efficient technique to market your brand because sounds have quite an impact on human memory.

Sonic logos can be catchy tunes, simple mnemonics, or non-lyrical jingles, that focus on conveying strong messages to their audience through music or sounds. This is where the psychology side of it comes in.

Psychology of Sonic Branding

Sonic branding can be more influential than visual advertising because a distinctive, catchy tune will make people recall your brand. Many studies have shown that music and sound affect the limbic part of the human brain, which deals with memory and emotions. This is how brand jingles can stick with you.

Research has shown that music can subconsciously affect people. When your brand’s sonic logo is playing in a store, it can affect peoples’ emotions, moods, and even actions in different ways. These tunes tend to settle in peoples’ minds, and they might hum or chant your brand’s sonic logo while shopping.

Sonic branding has many psychological effects on human minds, such as:

Triggering Emotions

Sounds can have a much more substantial emotional impact on human minds than visuals alone. For example, watching a silent video of a sunset does not trigger as much emotion as one that has sound, such as birds chirping and the wind blowing. Pleasant sounds make you feel relaxed and harsh noises can irritate you.

Catching More Attention

Most people are attracted to sounds because they can meddle with their moods and emotions. Sounds tend to grab people’s attention, and they will listen to them even in the absence of visual stimuli. Think about the many times you have had music playing while lying down. You are not looking at anything, yet the music is making you feel a certain kind of way.  

Enhancing Brand Recall

Sounds and jingles tend to stick with people for a long time and therefore, whenever people hear them, they know which brand those sounds and jingles belong to.

Communicating Messages

Sonic branding can help in communicating your brand message. Each chord or sound in your personalized tone should have the capability of evoking different emotions from your target audience.

Now that you know what sonic branding is and how it affects the minds of people, let us tell you about some of the benefits of using it in your branding efforts.

5 Benefits of Sonic Branding

Just like how brand logos and graphics can make your company or product stand out, sonic logos also have the capability of increasing brand awareness. Sounds are a powerful tool in marketing, and if used properly with other marketing strategies such as visuals, can make your brand more recognizable.

1. Increases Familiarity

Jingles and mnemonics make a place for themselves in the minds of people effortlessly. If your sonic logo is relevant to your brand, frequently played at stores or in videos, and if it suits the sound taste of your audience, it will increase your brand recognition.

How do you know what will suit your audience? You should start by identifying your brand’s archetype and buyer persona(s) to help you when choosing the right sonic brand.

2. Connects Product Values to Buyers

If your sonic logo includes the key attributes of your brand, then it is sure to attract your ideal consumers. If a song is composed of your brand in mind and has a tune that suits your brand, be it serious or quirky, it can create a strong impact on people.

3. Emotionally Connects People

Music is known to have a deep connection with human emotions. Different tunes can affect people in different ways. Slow and serious tunes will make people have a more sober attitude towards your product, while fun and enthusiastic tunes will make people have a relatively enthusiastic attitude. Emotional marketing is just as important as traditional marketing strategies, so choosing the right sound for your brand that suits its personality is essential.

4. Creates Emotions Through Physical Response

The way music affects our actual ear’s anatomy can evoke emotional responses to it. Sounds should be meaningful, and they do not have to be unnecessarily loud and boisterous to attract people. A soft, mellow sonic logo that conveys a strong message will do the job to market your brand successfully without being annoying or disruptive to someone’s ear.

5. Financial Success

Research has shown that for better marketing, it is important to create a sonic logo. Creating a sonic logo related to your brand has the capability of increasing the consumer’s willingness to buy your product and recall your brand. Your company must create a sonic logo as it can have a long-term and short-term effect on a company’s finances.

Now you know about the numerous benefits of sonic branding, but do you know how to find your sonic brand?

How To Find Your Sonic Branding?

Sonic logos have a purpose similar to those of visual logos in that they need to be closely related to your brand. To find the best sonic logo for your brand, keep the following points in consideration.

Sonic Branding Audit

If your product is already in the market, there is a possibility that your potential sonic logo already exists. The background music you use in your advertisements or a phrase you say at the end of a video or blog can act as a starting point to help you create a sonic logo for your brand.

Think about what sounds will go with your brand’s personality and relay that personality with those sounds.

The Simpler, The Better

Companies tend to get overwhelmed with various sounds when trying to create the best sonic logo for their brand, and this can lead to creating something awful. Therefore, you must keep your sound as simple as possible and choose only those designing elements that suit your product. Many of the most famous sonic logos are just tunes and jingles without lyrics, and this is what makes them so widely recognized. For example, Intel’s jingle that goes “dun dun” is widely recognized today because of its simplicity. This makes it easier to stick with people.

Your Sonic Logo Should Trigger Emotions

As we have mentioned above, your sonic logos need to have an emotional connection with your audience. They should make your audience feel the message you are trying to convey. Your main focus should be on your tagline and your logo when trying to come up with a sonic logo. You can work with branding agencies to come up with a sound that evokes the right feelings in your customers.

McDonalds is a perfect example as the jingle with “Para pa pa pa…I’m loving it!” can evoke feelings of happiness and joy.

Use Unique Sounds

You cannot use other brands’ sounds and jingles for your product because of copyright issues. Even if you could use some sounds that other companies already use, your brand would not stand out from your competition. That is why you should only choose sounds that can help you stand out in the market.

Keep Trying

Creating a unique, iconic tune for your brand is not as easy as you might think. Finding the perfect sound or jingle that suits your brand’s personality can be challenging. Sonic logos will take time, focus, and perseverance to gain familiarity with your customers, so do not give up.

Conclusion

Marketing your brand is very important, and sonic branding can help you in your efforts. Creating a sound or jingle that sticks with people can be very beneficial for your brand. Take your time creating your sonic logo, because when you make “the one,” you’ll stand out from the rest.