Sonic Branding 101
(Working with your sound designer)
Sonic Branding (or Sonic Logos) can be as important to your brand as the visual element/s of it. Where would Netflix be without it’s iconic “ba-boom” or how much further does McDonalds infiltrate our psyche because of its simple, yet unforgettable, melody?
Netflix’s Sonic Logo
McDonald’s Sonic Branding
There are already a million and one articles explaining what sonic branding is and why you might need it. Whilst I will briefly cover that in this blog, the majority of the focus will be on the process, the things to consider in your approach to it and some tips for ways to work with your sound designer in trying to communicate your brand identity in a sonic format.
SONIC BRANDING:
What Is It?
Sonic Branding covers any audio connected to your brand logo or identity. Sonic Logos are audio elements which accompany a splash of your visual logo, an animated version of it, or work in standalone (radio / podcast) to communicate your brand’s identity similarly to how it would in the visual realm.
Why Is It Useful?
When coupling with visuals you benefit from a two pronged attack on the audience, doubling the connections between your audience and your brand. When you then translate that to audio only mediums you benefit from that established connection and are able to communicate to your audience without the use of visuals as well.
If you're looking for help with your sonic branding then please
to discuss.
Check out the following examples of some great sonic logos and how the audio lifts the content, furthering engaging it with the audience.
A compilation of Sonic Logos by famous brands.
Once you’ve decided that you want to include audio in your brand messaging the major questions looms…
“Where do we even start?!
”
Understandably, it can seem like a daunting prospect. But it doesn’t have to be. I’ve outlined some quick steps below to help you get your head around what you want to be thinking about when you approach your sound designer to help craft your audio experience.
REMEMBER THAT YOUR SOUND DESIGNER IS LEARNING ABOUT YOUR BRAND, ITS IDENTITY AND HOW YOU WANT IT TO COMMUNICATE. IT IS A PROCESS AND REQUIRES THEM TO DECIPHER YOUR THOUGHTS AND RESEARCH FROM A LITERARY OR VISUAL FORMAT AND CONVERT THEM INTO AUDIO. THE EARLIER YOU CAN BEGIN DISCUSSIONS, THE BETTER.
Deciding how your brand should sound might seem like an alien concept. It is much easier to understand the visual realm as it is, arguably, the more prominent of our senses and one we recognise more readily in everyday situations. To help decipher the alien gibber gabber, consider using the processes detailed below.
THE PROCESS
INFORMATION
Gather as much information as you can about your brand which might be useful in communicating it to your sound designer. This could include keywords, colours, imagery, videos, shared concepts from other websites or videos and even things you don’t like which feature in your industry or on competitors content.
RESEARCH
Get on Google / Youtube / Vimeo / Instagram and search for ‘Sonic Branding’, ‘Sonic Logos’ (warning - you do get a lot of hedgehog links), ‘Audio Branding’ etc. and find things you like.
Once you have found things you like, try and work out why you like them in terms of how they make you feel - Is it the depth of the bass? Is it the movement of it? Is it the simplicity? Is it the abruptness or the calm nature of it?
DEVELOPMENT
Once your sound designer has all of the relevant information they can begin the demo process and start turning your ideas into audio format. This usually involves a bit of back and forth as they try to whittle down the provided concepts and adapt them to the feel of your brand.
I usually provide 3 - 4 demo options for the client to deliberate over from which they either chose a certain direction or can pick and choose elements from the various options. (For case studies on the process check out these videos below).
The outcome will benefit from good, clear communication at this stage in order to ensure you are on the same page before heading into the final stages of production.
PRODUCTION
Your Sound Designer can now fully embark on the final stages of production and provide you with a sonic logo which (hopefully) closely matches and enhances the identity of your brand and the visual components of it.
Resolve any niggling concerns - et voila!
IF YOU'RE CONSIDERING ADDING AUDIO TO YOUR BRANDING THEN I WOULD LOVE TO HELP. IT'S A CHALLENGING DISCIPLINE THAT OFFERS GREAT SCOPE FOR CREATIVITY AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SOMETHING TRULY UNIQUE AND ENGAGING.
TO DISCUSS!
Working Examples
To finish up this blog we’ll take a quick look at how the processes detailed above have worked across some sonic branding projects I’ve worked on. Firstly we’ll take a look at SEON, an online fraud prevention company who enlisted my services to help with their animated logo which appears at the end of social content feeds and videos.
SEON Sonic Logo Demos
Provided 4 versions from which ideas were taken from 2 to develop the final product.
SEON Sonic Logo Final
The final output after development and production
As an online tech company it was important the logo sounded modern, with a hint towards tech (by use of sliding sci-fi transitions) as well as sounding open and transparent. The company is there to be trusted as it helps you combat online fraud and so it was important this was conveyed in the audio messaging. We experimented with various versions, as seen in the ‘demos’ video and then selected elements from two of them to incorporate into the final video. After a final round of client ammendments the finished product can be seen in the ‘final’ video above.
Secondly, we’ll take a quick look at Chatloop. Chatloop are a new social media enterprise whereby you can communicate with other users on webpages, rather than on a timeline or profile. Their mission is to change the way we interact on social media.
CHATLOOP SONIC LOGO - DEMO 01
CHATLOOP SONIC LOGO FINAL
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!
IF YOUR'RE LOOKING FOR ASSISTANCE FOR ANY ASSISTANCE WITH SOUND DESIGN, MUSIC COMPOSITION OR AUDIO PRODUCTION FOR YOUR SONIC BRANDING THEN PLEASE
I'D LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE LINED UP!