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marketing
roundhouse make
sonic brands
Lloyd, do talk to us about Sonic Branding. What is it?
A Sonic Brand is the sound of a company. Put simply it’s the identity
of a brand or company that you hear rather than see. It’s an audio
logo, adding a sound layer to a company’s visual identity.
What’s the difference between a Brand Score and a Sonic Brand?
Essentially the Brand Score is the whole ‘soundtrack’ to the brand.
We produce a full length Brand Score for every client looking
for a sonic identity. When we’re working on a production, what
we are looking for are the key values, goals and ambitions of the
company together with their physical appearance.
This can sometimes be a very in depth process but the aim is to
distill the best and most important qualities of the brand into a track
that both the company and its customers can relate to.
The Brand Score forms the DNA of all of the sonic attributes
of the company brand thereafter. From this we derive all other
audio, whether that be the Sonic Brand with a logo animation,
radio snippets, hold music, app sound affects, website audio,
or YouTube. The list is endless. This 360° approach results in a
cohesive and comprehensive sonic identity. But you’ve got to get it
right from the outset!
Jingles. Is that the same?
In a word, ‘No’. The key thing to remember about a jingle is that
its sole purpose is recognition and brand recall. That’s it. This isn’t
a bad thing in principal but when it’s handled badly it can have
a detrimental affect on a brand’s likability and ability to identify
with its audience. For us, a Sonic Brand’s key role is to positively
Portfolio of Clients Work
enhance a company’s identity and provide that extra, crucial layer
of familiarity and likability. Forget about jingles.
The process, how does that work?
It varies considerable depending on a clients needs but generally
the first step is a workshop with the company and who ever they
want involved.
We sit down with them and work as a group to bring together
multiple viewpoints and perceptions of the company and steer
along a discovery path of what the company should sound like.
I try to get them to think about the relationship between sound and
sight. This is important, as most people working outside of audio or
branding do not tend to put the two things in the same box. You see
a real light bulb moment when they realise just how interconnected
the two are. Opinion and taste are important here as a company’s
employees more often than not reflect the company so what they
like musically is often what their customers like. Or sometimes not!
Then we work through a creative brief where we will analyze the
content of the workshop and turn those ideas and opinions into a
real strategy for producing the perfect Brand Score. During this
stage we look at what audio attributes will be most useful for the
company and what markets they are trying to speak to. We work
closely with the company or agency so that they are involved as
much as they like and are happy with what is being produced.
Engaging and communicating is key. The process can sometimes
take a long time but when it’s complete and we have the Brand
Score, we can really run with developing all their other audio
products. The wait is worth it to see the company come to life in the
form of music.
User cases for sonic brand
www.roundhouse.be/cases
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