Audio branding, also known as sonic branding, is a verbal identity that gives a personal brand its own distinct personality using tone of voice. It makes use of sound to reinforce a company’s identity and brand. Sound has always been a great tool to convey memorable messages to consumers as it is something that we’ve been able to consume even when we were in the womb according to Colleen Fahey, U.S. Managing Director of Sixieme Son, an Audio Branding Agency.
Despite sound being a very integral part of communication, it wasn’t highly thought of when it came to personal branding. And, it’s still only conversed about in a limited bases in corporate strategic meetings. Having an audio brand is a good step to take to ensure that no other firm uses similar audio and to truly deep dive into your brand DNA and ensure that at every touchpoint the expression of your brand is consistent.
Feel the sound
With the dynamic nature of sound you can create an emotional connection with the target audience in your business. In some instances, people often tap their feet or hum to a company’s unique tune even when it is not playing at that particular moment.
Sound, and by extension music, taps into the emotions of an audience. When it is delivered reasonably, audio conveys information, entertain consumers, and in the long run helps form a lifelong positive association with customers that reinforces brand values.
Sound is the most commonly used medium of communication. This is another reason why you should study your audio usage in your personal brand. What do you currently use as your ringtone, presentations, videos, and your booth at a tradeshow or even on your personal website? By coming up with good sound (that is a sound that communicates your brand attributes effectively), audio becomes an effective form to communicate. This can be used with in collaboration with visual or verbal communication. The sounds can then be used to convey meaning and ideas.
From previous studies, it has been shown that an audio brand is equally or more impactful on how a brand is perceived as its visual identity is. When creating successful audio, one has to understand that sound can as well pollute the environment. An audio pollutes when it delivers a different meaning or energy to a brand. The inconsistency is confusing and when something is confusing others rarely spend time to figure out where the disconnect is. In fact, if your personal brand is confusing or difficult for someone to communicate to their contact sphere, they just won’t say anything at all. And, internally they will feel that something is “misfiring” or “not right” even though they can’t put their finger on exactly what that is.
Coming up with audio
Designing an audio brand would mean more than just creating a short melody or a catchy jingle. [tweet this]
When considering the right music production source, listen to most of their work as much as possible then compare the overall quality. Take charge of your personal brand and really know what the five attributes are that you would like to convey in every aspect of your brand. Take your time and do the research; talk to the producer and writer to get a feel for their work before you start the project. And you, be the strategist and leader in your own personal brand, to make sure that in every way you express your brand that it’s truly – on brand.
