Michele Arnese, Founder & CEO at amp and world-leading expert in the field of sonic branding. Discover more at www.ampsoundbranding.com
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Summer marked a return to some semblance of normal for many people. Who could have predicted we’d end up missing the previously everyday sights and sounds of the commute, the office or a busy bar? The pandemic has arguably created a world of simultaneous overstimulation on our daily screens and understimulation away from them as we’ve adjusted to technology playing a crucial role in keeping us working, stocked up with things we need and, of course, entertained.
One study found that daily online content consumption doubled in 2020, with the vast majority of consumers growing their use of digital services. As a result, our “bricks and clicks” modern economy shifted dramatically toward clicks. And, of course, what we refer to as “clicks” has evolved significantly in recent years. What really was once a simple click might actually now involve a voice interaction with a smart speaker or assistant, a tap to buy on a social media platform or a conversation with a brand’s AI chatbot.
Home technology has broadly fallen into three categories in the last year: the helper (smart speakers), the worker (Zoom, Google Hangouts, Slack) and the entertainer (streaming and gaming services). And these have combined to provide a new soundtrack to our everyday lives. When you think about it, the proliferation of new digital products and services has created a large, growing range of sounds. Owners of smart speakers are aware of their products’ bespoke sound signatures, but a range of streaming media, apps and screens in our lives are now also catering to the ear as well as the eye. It’s a “tech-tonic” shift for the senses.
Away from the usual screens, there are even more sounds being created — the Internet of Things equals the Internet of Sound. Intelligent washing machines sing at the end of a cycle to tell us our clothes are clean, smart fridges let us know we’re out of a product and smart utilities trill that we’ve left the heat on. With many people venturing back out into the world again, we’re adding back in the reassuring sounds that we may not have heard for months — the beep as we enter a store, the melody of the ATM, specific notes when we pay with a certain contactless card or start our cars.
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And as tech companies have embedded sounds in our lives, individual brands are becoming more alert to the need to find their voices too. The challenge is to add to the symphony of modern life and cut through the noise without becoming annoying or distracting. We’ve come a long way from a solitary jingle representing a brand, or even associations with existing music through licensing. What we’re faced with now, to create consistent and reliable experiences for users, is the crafting of bespoke audio elements into what my company calls sonic DNA — the sonic equivalent of a brand’s visual identity. For example, James Bond movies feature those chromatic notes not just in the original theme but throughout the soundtracks, title sequences and even in promotional materials, products and experiences. So too are brands finding their core voices and sounds and deploying them consistently across myriad touchpoints in the ever-growing digital marketplace.
Using a recognizable sound creates a reassuring sense of security and gives brands a presence in nonvisual environments such as smart speakers. A few years ago, it was considered that the best fintech companies make payments so seamless and secure that you don’t even know they’re there. As brands themselves reposition to be seamlessly integrated into our lives, they don’t have the luxury of hiding behind the veil of tech. Otherwise, there’d be a race to the bottom of ubiquitous, disposable brands. Instead, I believe sound is the next frontier of standing out, helping customers discern between high-quality and lesser brands, and creating a more holistically sense-based brand. In 2021, brands have an opportunity to evolve from the sound of silence to the sound of salience.
My company’s research shows that there’s a growing audio advantage opening up between brands that have invested in a sonic strategy and those that have yet to seize the opportunity. Sound, like visual branding, can contribute meaningfully to digital storytelling.
So here is my hands-on advice on how to set up a sonic strategy for your brand:
• Answer the questions, “How does my brand sound?” and “How doesn’t it sound?” with a music mood board. This will give you the initial context to understand your brand sonically.
• Create a flexible main theme, a sonic DNA, that is your own sonic expression to be used as starting point for any creation and musical execution.
• Define your major sonic cues and touchpoints. Then, create sonic assets and implement them in their context to start building brand memory structures that create brand recognition and equity in the long term.
As we get back to many of our normal activities and add in more sounds of the physical world, the battle for attention will be even more challenging. A recognizable audio identity built out from a core sonic DNA isn’t just a way to engage with the consumer of today; it should also be as future-proof as 007’s theme. Brands of the future need to prepare for technology to blur the lines even further between our physical and digital worlds, and how to offer a consistent experience whether it’s bricks or clicks. And a growing part of that will be by leaving behind a clear sonic footprint. The opportunity is there for the taking. Technology will continue to shape the soundtrack to our lives, and the work starts now to ensure we all have a voice.
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Author: Michele Arnese, Forbes Councils Member
