Why Brands Need Signature Sounds

As marketers direct more ad dollars to audio to capitalize on interest in radio podcasts and streaming audio it is more important than ever that brands create a consistent audio identityamp160 Also known as sonic branding the idea is that ads employ a unique sound across platforms so the tone becomes familiar and consumers associate it with aamp160brandamp160 Recognizable audio signatures help a brand stand out emphasize a brand39s identity and drive engagementSonic branding is a timehonored tactic in radio adsamp160 For decades advertisers have used a consistent music bed to kick off their ads or the same individual to voice their spotsamp160 More recently as marketers tightened ad budgets and shifted dollars to digital media some advertisers have tried to shoehorn creative from TV and digital into audioamp160 That might save some dollars on creative but it robs brands of a huge opportunity to establish a unified audio signatureNow as listening grows across formats and devices audio deserves its creative dueamp160 What39s at stakeamp160amp160Half of all Americans have listened to a podcast and one in four listen weekly according to the latest Infinite Dial report from Edison Research and Triton Digitalamp160 At the same time nearly onequarter of Americans own at least one smart speaker with owners citing audio as one of their top speaker usesamp160 Nearly twothirds of Americans listen to online radio including streaming services like Pandora and Spotify as well as online broadcast radio stationsamp160 And of course broadcast radio remains the mostused media with 92 of Americans listening regularly per Nielsenamp160To harness audio39s potential marketers need to prioritize audio creative and sonic logosamp160 A familiar sound increases brand recall and engagement which are critical to converting listeners into customersamp160 Ads are often heard but not seen which makes a consistent sound across platforms even more importantamp160 According to a report from Nielsen Consumer Neuroscience 61 of TV ads are not watched but they are heardRadio spots can help make TV ads more memorable too in a separate study Nielsen found people who listened to a radio spot for a brand had 35 higher awareness for companion TV ads compared to those who only watched the TV adamp160 Some companies are making these crossplatform connections and creating a sound logoamp160 Earlier this spring Pandora revealed a new threesecond sonic logo as part of its quotSound Onquot ad campaign Mastercard meanwhile debuted a new audio signature earlier this year and now uses it across media channelsamp160 Fittingly the credit card company revealed the news in an audio press release explaining quotthe distinct and memorable Mastercard melody will provide simple seamless familiarityquotIndeed ads with an audio logo produce higher purchase intent than spots without one according to an analysis of 164 awardwinning radio ads by ad effectiveness firmamp160Veritonicamp160and radio networkamp160Westwood Oneamp160 Music made ads even more memorable with those spots generating 150 higher purchase intent than spots without any musicThe importance of sonic branding also extends to contentamp160 Music intros for popular programs can produce an almost visceral reactionamp160 CBS39 iconic 60 Minutes ticking clock signals both the start of the venerable news show and the end of the weekendChanges can be jarringamp160 Case in point NPR recently debuted a new theme song for its flagship morning show Morning Edition replacing a recognizable song that had run for 40 yearsamp160 Some listeners protested loudly on social media and hundreds even emailed NPR executives to complain about the change and expressamp160their dislike of the new songamp160 For theiramp160part NPR executives have explained they wanted to update the music with a fresh modern soundWhether you like the new Morning Edition tune or pine for the old one the debate got people talking about NPR and the show and searching for the music onlineamp160 The coverage and social media chatter raised NPR39s profile and likely spurred sampling which is good for listening affiliates and brand partnersamp160Which leads us to a good pointamp160 Sonic branding doesn39t have to appeal to everyone to make it memorableamp160 The best sounds will generate a reaction from listeners and at their best will send customers to a store or website to take actionamp160 Now if you39ll excuse me I39m off to buy some wiper blades and washer fluid from quotOOO O39Reilly amp8230 Auto PartsquotClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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Why Brands Need Signature Sounds

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Alli Romano

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Why Brands Need Signature Sounds

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