Searching for a Sonic Identity? Start With a Sonic Strategy

A catchy jingle has been a staple of advertising since the earliest days of radio. While jingles may not be as popular today, a memorable sonic identity for brands continues to be important. 

Why? Well, audio consumption is rising faster than overall media usage. Brands need to engage consumers' ears as well as their eyes to reach an audience that is increasingly plugged into audio platforms. Audio advertising is the perfect medium to extend the reach and exposure of your sonic identity to your target audience. Combine reach and frequency with attention (audio ads can produce 50% more audience attention than benchmarks across video, TV, and social media), and you’re well on your way to imprinting your sonic identity deep into the minds and hearts of your audience.

When recognizing the value of a distinctive sonic identity, you may be tempted to dive right into composing a brand theme or creating a sonic logo that’s on par with that of McDonald’s. But as Sun Tzu says in The Art of War, “Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Without a sonic strategy, your sound choices could wind up being little more than noise. Here’s why a sonic strategy should be a top priority for your brand—and how to create one that sticks. 

The Sound of Your Brand: Why a Sonic Strategy Matters 

The sound of your brand isn’t defined by a sonic logo. It’s defined by every sound that creates a perception of a brand. If your brand is regularly using music, voiceovers, or sound design in your advertising, you already have a sonic identity, whether you realize it or not. 

In a marketplace where ears are as important as eyes, the sound of your brand shouldn’t be an afterthought. A clearly defined sonic strategy helps set your brand apart. It strengthens emotional connections, particularly with younger audiences, and research suggests that 33% of young adults favor brands with a recognizable sound. In fact, an Ipsos study revealed that the use of sonic brand cues are 8.5x more likely to produce high-performing ads, significantly outperforming the use of distinctive visual assets. When it comes to recall, emotion, and connection, the ears have it.

The first step to defining your sonic brand is to start with a sonic strategy that clarifies your brand’s objectives (e.g., enhancing recall, deepening emotional connections, differentiating from competitors). This ensures that your brand’s sonic elements are consistent with your broader marketing and branding efforts and guides the creation of audio assets like sonic logos, brand voices, and more. 

Creating a Sonic Strategy: Tips and Tricks

To put it another way, your sonic brand doesn’t start with your ears. It starts with what’s between them. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you think more strategically about the sounds you choose to associate with your brand. 

Congruency Is Key

Our brains are wired to look for patterns, and when things fit, they’re easier to remember. The sounds you associate with your brand should align with your brand values and personality.

Think about your brand's core attributes: Is your brand playful, serious, luxurious, or practical? Your sonic choices should reflect these qualities and values. Are you a tech brand? An automotive brand? Perhaps a fast-moving consumer goods or financial brand? What sounds might be associated with your brand category? Beyond categories and attributes, think about how music, voices, and sound design can complement other multi-sensory dimensions, like a visual logo, color palette, and overall design aesthetic. 

Continuous testing can help you objectively measure how well your sonic choices fit your brand and how they resonate with your target audience, allowing you to refine your strategy and optimize your sonic assets along the way.

Consider the Context

Remember: A sonic identity isn’t just a collection of audio assets. It’s the holistic sonic experience of your brand—whenever, wherever, and however it’s heard.

Think of the following questions when considering the context of your audience’s listening experience. 

• The where: Where is your audience hearing your brand? Are they in the car, the kitchen, or shopping in a retail environment? 

• The what: Is your audience tuning in to a R&B radio station or a talk show? Are they plugged in during a video ad or on an audio-only platform?

• The how: How does your brand’s sonic experience come to life at retail locations, live events, experiential activations, and more?

Listeners connect with audio content everywhere, streaming multiple times a day from different locations, contexts, and devices. And daily, 54% of digital audio listening takes place at home, 29% occurs in the car, and 12% happens at work. As you can see, having a robust set of audio guidelines for sonically optimizing your brand sound—across a variety of contexts—ensures a cohesive brand experience, no matter where it’s heard. 

Consistency: The Path to Sonic Distinctiveness

Because our brains are wired for sound, we can remember voices, melodies, and sounds even after hearing them just a few times. However, it’s one thing to remember a sound—it’s another to successfully link the sound to your brand. To reinforce the associations between your brand and your sonic assets, consumers should hear them as often as possible, and in as many contexts as possible. 

Reach and frequency amplify your sonic identity, but consistency over time is the key to distinctiveness. Most brands have specific guidelines for the adoption, use, and application of their visual assets in-market. Just like with visual guidelines, brands should create guiding principles for how, when, and where their brand is heard to ensure consistency, build recognition, and foster long-term recall.

A catchy sound may grab consumers’ attention, but it’s the consistent, strategic use of your sonic assets across multiple media platforms and audio touchpoints that cements brand recall and builds emotional connections. It goes to show: Your sonic strategy is essential to creating an effective and memorable sonic identity that stands the test of time. 

Make Sonic Magic with Studio Resonate

In today’s media landscape, hearing your brand is as important as seeing it. With digital audio on the rise, it’s imperative that you develop a sonic strategy for your brand.

Not sure where to start? Lean on Studio Resonate, our in-house, audio-first creative agency, serving brands that advertise on all our platforms: SiriusXM, Pandora, SoundCloud, and the SiriusXM Podcast Network. 

From offering sonic strategy to full-service audio production services, our Studio Resonate team has partnered with leading brands like Dove, Magnum ice cream, Pepsi, and more, producing award-winning creative with measurable results. Check out examples of their work here. 

Get Heard with SiriusXM Media

As the largest digital audio advertising ecosystem in North America, with the largest addressable audience, we can help amplify your brand's sonic identity and strategy across all our platforms.

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