Sound is the new Visual!

Yes, you read that right! You know, history says, that the audio came first than language itself, isn't that inquisitive and exciting in itself? For me, it indeed is. It is like, things like dogs and tunes came prior to the languages and texts. It got me thinking how such a concept is really into the game now in the marketing world and I got on to a philosophy that led to a conclusion that how music, songs, jingle or anything related to audio can essentially be proven as more efficient than the posters, labels, billboards or anything which doesn't involve audio when it comes to branding.

Since the launch and evolution of concepts like Audiobooks, podcasts etc., things via audio mode has started getting into the nerves of marketers and with the introduction of concepts like Metaverse, things like advertising through audio will have to be more immersive because of all the emerging digital space elements, especially the sensory ones, because let's not forget here that audio ignites one of our sensory organs. Now, here comes the technique of new jargon cum concept, called, "Sonic Branding", it is nothing but the art to brand the product or service through the help of sound, rhythms, hymns etc, it is therefore largely helped in promoting and complementing the visual appeal of the brand. You see, all this is not hearsay or a gimmicky act that brands opt for, but it's pure science! The science behind this concept is as old as the pre-historic era when Humans were starting to develop their senses about the environment they live in. Legends have it that, humans used to imitate animal sounds and rudimentarily, it started becoming music to them and hence the concept of "sounds triggering the brains" came into existence. Thus, this type of miraculous touch to the process of branding adds more value to the company's identity in the subconscious minds of the consumers.

The most common element of such a practice which usually every brand associates themselves is the "jingles", wherein the company tells about their purpose and the product or service they are launching in a rhyming pattern with no more than three to four lines. See, the example could be that of haptic and subtle sound notification when you use your phone or the affirmations it gives you after you touch your phone or any application on it. If you will observe, the sounds of the notification rings from different companies always sound unique and purposeful to that company, for example, the ringtone of Apple iPhones or Samsung Galaxy phones with their iconic ringtone and talking about ringtones, how can we even forget the legendary Nokia ringtone? The connection to such an action is so much there in us that if we don't see or sense such things, we can't really feel as complete. It's the focus on the memory salience if the customers that companies have started investing time, energy and money in things like purely audio-based branding via podcast, audiobooks, radio channels etc.

One of the most strategic reasons for brands drifting from visual branding to audio branding could be that almost every brand is making their presence felt on digital platforms by making visual advertisements, which is resulting in making the competition more stiff and tight than ever before. So, the big names in the business have started investing in the audio mode of branding or 'sonic branding', back like good old days for creating a sort of the lead and advantage in the game. Also, let's not forget here that, the language of visual assets can be interpreted wrongly or not as proposed by the marketer in many places across the world but, the language of music is universal, that's the sure-shot advantage one can have if invested wisely. The cherry on top is the technology that can evolve the way we "see" the sound. With technologies like AI, things can be harmonized and conceptualized, so well, for example, tools like Google Assistant, Google Home, Amazon Echo, Apple Homepod etc. The companies can henceforth utilize their mental strength and wisdom to actually make the most out of such stuff by personalizing the technologies according to their needs, wants and desires.

Unlike the visual logos, the concept of "Mogo" or musical logos has started complimenting the audio-branding process of the company's marketing. It is also a fact that, barely, a human being's attention span is eight seconds and you can only imagine what a customer can 'see' in that time span but not everybody can foresee what a human being can 'feel' in that time span. That's why, it is much more efficient to produce an audio asset for branding so that, the time span of attention doesn't go in vain and the company can make the most out of it as an attention seeker.

I believe that will be it from my side for this particular piece of text or else I would keep on going for such an interesting topic and I will catch you all next Sunday!

Peace.