Why Brands Need Sound Strategy

Sound strategy is powerfully effective and easy to attain once you understand what it means to your brand specifically. Making sound on purpose matters. The Sound In Marketing podcast shares how. 

Thank you to Pixabay and Artlist for that extra SFX flavor. And thank you to Mudflow from Artlist for that stirring example of music I would not play in a mellow coffee shop. I also stuck in one of my own tracks for that “popular track” that you can’t focus on. Lastly, thank you to HAVAS and IPSOS for their studies on sound that help to make what I talk about legitimized. 

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For further inquiries, email Jeanna at mailto:[e-mail]   

The Sound In Marketing Podcast is produced by Dreamr Productions and hosted, written, and edited by Jeanna Isham. It is available on all the major podcast channels here https://pod.link/1467112373.

Let’s make this world of sound more intriguing, more unique, and more on brand.

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Episode Transcript

(00:04):
Welcome to the Sound In Marketing podcast.
I'm your host, Jeanna Isham, owner,and founder
of Dreamr Productionsand Sound in Marketing Learning.
I create, consult and educate individualsand brands
on the power of sound in marketing.
The Sound In Marketing Podcast existsas a resource for those wanting to up
their marketing game exponentiallyby simply thinking a little differently.

(00:29):
My real heart is focusing on my fellowsmall to medium sized businesses,
and the potential sound strategyhas for their brand marketing.
Sound can give that extra boost needed
to effectively competewith bigger business competitors,
especially within the newnessof sensorial marketing.
Everyone will figure this out eventually.

(00:50):
Hopefully this podcast helpsyou get ahead of the crowd.
If the content in these episodesinspire ideas for your company,
don't hesitate to give me a call.
Dreamr Productionshelps brands make sound on purpose.
We'd love to help you too.
Now on to the show.
In this episode,we'll be talking about sound strategy

(01:10):
and why it is so important for currentbrand marketing
as a Sonic brander.
I get asked a lot of questions.
What is Sonic branding?
What is sound in marketing?
Why can't I just find a catchy song hereand there?
Throw it in my latest campaignand call that branding.
Why should I budget for sonicbranding and sound advertising
when my current marketing is goingjust fine?

(01:33):
Most of the time people think of soundas a secondary thing in marketing
that it's not as importantas what a brand looks like.
Or they simply don't stopto take in the idea.
They might think
once my video campaign is done,then I'll find some catchy, upbeat,
and or emotionally appropriate trackand tag it onto the video.
Not designing the

(01:54):
sound and music alongsidethe video is a missed opportunity.
We are in the age of voicefirst and voice only.
Smart speakers and other smart technologyvoice
ads and voice responsiveads screens are disappearing.
They are less relevant and less necessary.
What happenswhen no one is looking at your brand?

(02:15):
How will you stand out?
People are busyand want to be left to their day.
Sound enables them to do just that.
Sound doesn't get in your way.
All it asks is for you to listen.
And unless you take an action of eithercovering your ears
or turning off the sound, you will hear.
Keep in mind,I'm not saying all sound is good sound.

(02:37):
In fact, there's a lot of noise out there.
That noise comes from a lack of organizedthought
about how to make said noise less noisy.
Sound marketing and sonicbranding is curated and custom built.
It's a premeditatedthought on a brand's end.

(02:57):
(sonic logos and themes playing)
(sonic logos and themes playing)
(sonic logos and themes playing)
(sonic logos and themes playing)
(sonic logos and themes playing)
It's a sound that is made on purpose.
Sonic branding is sound on purpose.
As humans, we love to tell storiesand we love to hear stories.

(03:20):
We love to gossip and converseand build community.
We learn and growfrom those communicative moments.
We thrive on it to help process thingsand absorb information.
We use rhythm.
(sonic logos and themes playing)
(sonic logos and themes playing)

(03:42):
Patterns and repetition.
(sonic logos and themes playing)
(sonic logos and themes playing)
(sonic logos and themes playing)
(sonic logos spoken word and themes playing)
All to ingrain our messageinto the listener, whoever that may be.
It's not just about what we see.
We have five senses sight,
sound, touch, taste and smell.
Sound is one fifth of that storythat we love

(04:05):
generally, in marketing,we only pay attention to sight.
But what about the other five senses?
Where is the rest of the story?
The more senses we have at work,the more of an emotional response
and lasting impressionwe will give and get from our consumer.
Here's proof.
According to a 2019 studyby the HAVAS group, an estimated 83%

(04:27):
of advertising reliesalmost exclusively on the sense of sight.
Despite the fact that sound has been shownto prompt recall,
solidify brand associations, transcendbarriers of language
and culture,and significantly impact business results.
Aren't those kind of importantaspects of brand marketing?
According to a 2020 Ipsos study,

(04:49):
only 8% of marketing assetsincluded sonic cues and or music.
However, when distinctivebrand assets were used, those with sound
were eight and a half timesmore likely to be high performers.
For perspective, visuals were rankedas only three times
as likely, with sound having such power.
Why are we still so heavilyfocused on site based advertising?

(05:14):
By nature, we are sensorial creatures.
It's what separates us from robots.
It makes us unique and sentient and human.
When we are missingthat sensorial perspective,
we are missing that human connection.
If we need to connect as humansthrough the senses, then why wouldn't
that be true?
With our connectionsthrough brand messaging,

(05:36):
when we experience something, it's neverjust what we're listening to or seeing.
Think about it for a second. (music playing)
Say you're listening to your favorite songand you close your eyes. (music playing)
Is that all you're experiencing? (music playing)
Just the sound. (music playing)
Try it. (music playing)
Close your eyesand focus on just one thing. (music playing)

(06:00):
Didn't work, did it?
When I do this, I also feel the breeze
coming in from the window.
I smell the cookiesmy husband just baked in the kitchen.
If I squeeze my
eyes tight enough,I might even see some colors.
I'll also probably geta replay taste of the coffee

(06:21):
I sipped on earlier.
Five senses equalsfive experiences in one.
With that being said, when I talk aboutusing sound in marketing,
I'm never sayingjust use sound in your marketing.
Sound is an enhancement, a tool
to help fullyrealize your brand sensorial potential.

(06:42):
So what does sound specifically have to dowith branding and marketing?
Here's an example.
You have a brick and mortar business,say a coffee shop.
You want to convey a mellow moodfor people to linger or
grab a refill of a beverage, buy a pastry,maybe even a sandwich to go.
Would you playmetal music to get that vibe? (metal music playing)

(07:04):
Absolutely not.
Let's say you have a gaming app, and it'sone of those bubble popping games.
For each bubble popped, you want to emotea feeling of satisfaction
and encourage the player to keep playingand buy your bonus coins or something.
For more ad free play,
would you want the popsto sound like a gunshot or a bubble?

(07:25):
I actually don't knowthe answer to that one, but
if this were your product,you would definitely know
and you most definitely wouldn'twant the opposite choice.
Sound in marketing is just one more way
for you to relate toand be genuine with your audience.
So what does your brand sound like?
Thank you to Pixabay and Art listfor that extra sound effects flavor.

(07:47):
And thank you to mudflow from Art listfor that stirring
example of musicI would not play in a mellow coffee shop.
I also
stuck in one of my own tracksfor that popular track.
Lastly, thank you to HAVASand Ipsos for their studies on sound
that helped to makewhat I talk about legitimized.
Did you like what you heard?

(08:08):
Great. Leave a review.
Tell a friend and spread the word.
More people should know about this stuff.
I know you know that now.
Want to explore your sound strategyfurther?
I'd love to help.
Send me an email at [e-mail]
and we can continue this off
platform. For further resources,learning and content.
Check out Sound In MarketingLearning for your one stop sound shop.

(08:31):
All links will be provided in the shownotes.
Let's make this world of soundmore intriguing, more unique, and more
and more on brand.