It’s time brands get serious about sound!

It’s time for brands to embrace sound

By Michele Arnese, CEO, amp

Sound has always been a vital part of the brand experience. And, with Gartner predicting that 30% of our purchases will be screenless by 2020, it’s never been more urgent for brands to make themselves (quite literally) heard.  

Despite this, our amp Best Audio Brands Ranking found that just 22% of brands – including Disney, McDonalds and Intel - are using sound efficiently.

This might surprise you when you think about how iconic and recognisable some of these brands’ jingles are – who could fail to recognise Disney’s fairytale score, or McDonald’s ‘’I’m Lovin’ It’ jingle, for instance? But the fact is, voice interaction and audio signposting for digital experiences and media content is growing increasingly prevalent, so sonic branding must work across many different customer touch points.

With this in mind, here are the most important things brands can do to prepare for the audio revolution:

1) Think long term. In order to future-proof your brand, create an all-encompassing audio branding strategy - one that compliments your brand’s visual, social and cultural equity, across all its audio assets. Unlike a single sound asset, this sonic DNA can then be adapted or revised for every touchpoint, so you can communicate your brand’s identity effectively.

2) Be original. Avoid using pop songs for representation, as this does not promote long-term brand salience. Instead, think about what you want to say, and create something unique. You want a soundtrack or score so true to your brand that, should your consumer hear a piece of audio collateral for the first time, the integration of the core sonic DNA makes it identifiable immediately. The James Bond soundtrack, for instance, has been revised many times, but is still recognisable.

3) Work with experts. The focus from brands up until now has been on refining their visual identities, especially as the digital market has evolved, and the sonic branding market is still in its relative infancy. As such, it’s vital to work with a partner that has kind of experience and expertise required to prepare you for the next frontier of consumer-brand experiences.

People need to hear brands to interact with them, so it’s time brands take this on board and embrace sound as an integral part of their customer experience strategy.

Michele Arnese

Global CEO & Head of Creativity & Strategy