Most public engagement campaigns and public initiatives have visual logos and taglines of some kind. Teams work long and hard to come up with identities that communicate the purpose of the project and the benefit to the constituency to generate interest, excitement and participation. Few have an audio logo, but that’s going to change in the year ahead as brands look for new ways to cut through the clutter to connect with audiences bombarded with visual messages and images.

What is Sonic Branding?

Sonic branding is basically a sound trademark. Take the ubiquitous Law & Order “dun-dun.” The sound communicates a jail door slamming, the bang of a judge’s gavel and the seriousness of the story ahead in just a couple of seconds—sonic branding at its best. There are plenty of others, like the NBC chimes or the ticking clock of “60 Minutes” that deliver mere seconds of perfect, memorable soundbites that speak volumes about the subject they represent and instantly distinguish the brand.

Isn’t that just for entertainment, you may say? Well, consider the roles a sonic logo might play in your next public awareness or engagement effort. Here are a few ideas to get the beat started:

Set yourself apart from similar projects to avoid confusion and make your project memorable
Welcome website visitors with a warm note
Start a project podcast with your sonic logo and use it to promote episodes.
Use your soundbite to announce a project survey or poll and gain more participants.

Use these ideas to start your team brainstorming—there are plenty of other applications for your sound.

What are some other benefits?

Need more whys for exploring a Sonic Brand? Here are three:

Increase familiarity and relevance. Heard with frequency, these soundbites increase awareness of your project or organization.
Increase association and recall. By incorporating your brand sound into varied outreach communications, you make impressions that last, improving recall of your project or organization.
Capture attention faster. You can turn heads and grab attention with a Sonic Brand that makes listeners smile—and remember.

Find your sound

Creating a stand-alone sound begins where all solid communication strategy starts: know and understand your audience, know what you want to communicate, know how you want to be perceived and know your goals. Your engagement team can walk you through branding exercises to build a strategy your audience can both see and hear—and remember.

Give us a call and schedule a consultation today.

Arch Street Communications

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160 Wildey Street, Tarrytown, NY 10591
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