An Audio Branding Blog By TreBrand

So, you’re looking to take your brand to the next level with an audio logo. This is great news because music is powerful my friend. But, before we get ahead of ourselves lets take a minute to figure out what goes into creating a memorable audio brand.

Play It A Lot

According to recent research done by Centaur Communications Ltd. there are a few things to remember when creating your company’s audio logo. The first being that frequency and long-term consistency is important. Going out and creating a jingle or audio logo that will only be used a few times doesn’t make sense. Neither does showing the audio brand once a quarter.

Tell ‘em Who You Are

The next thing to remember is that for people to remember and associate sound with your brand you need to use the brand name in the sound clip. The Centaur research team showed that 90% of people have heard the Intel (shown below) audio logo but only 38% of the participants could identify the brand itself. In comparison take a listen below at what East Side Mario’s has done.

Intel

East Side Mario’s

Give Value

Lastly, it’s vital that you link the sound to the benefits. One of the best examples of this is Kit Kat take a brake campaign (shown below). Not only is the brand name in the song but it also helps listeners remember why they should buy Kit Kat and not a competitor’s brand.

Kit Kat

Next time you are out looking for a new sound for you company keep these three things in mind.

“Imagine a city where a river runs through it.”

This quote is from a recent theme song that was created for the City of London. Whether you like it or not one thing is for certain music has the power to invoke strong emotions in humans.

Why was this theme song created?

I don’t know the exact circumstances but those who have met London mayor Joe Fontana will be aware of his goal to make London a world class city. Building an audio brand is step in the right direction. Just check out what Vienna has been up to and you’ll see what I mean.

So, where did the city go wrong?

Here are a few of my thoughts on how the audio brand for the City of London could have been improved.

1. Brand Audit – Anytime you start messing with a brand, that includes adding an audio identity, it becomes important to know where the brand currently sits and where you want it to go. In this case what does the City of London really represent? Who does it represent?
2. Sound Boards – This part is all about selecting the right sounds/instruments and genre for the brand. Much of what you put on a sound board is based on the brand audit.
3. Brand Pillars – For any brand to be successful it music be distinct, memorable, flexible and honest. Whenever a piece of music is written for a brand those same four pillars must be utilized and connected with other aspects of the brand.

One thing to note, this process does not have to be expensive, however, some strategic thinking will go a long way in creating a strong audio brand.