Why WPP fast-forwarded its position on sonic branding

Using audio to cement a marketing message is as old, a minimum of, because the jingle itself. But in an era when every touchpoint is a marketing opportunity and sound is all over the place, the concept of getting a signature sound has been cranked as much as 11.

Brands whose ads used sonic branding were over eight times more more likely to be recognized and accurately attributed than people who didn’t, in line with Ipsos research. Yet, in line with the identical study, only 6% of the greater than 2,000 pieces of video creative reviewed contained sonic branding, while 91% contained a logo. 

That gap is one among the explanations WPP recently saw fit to accumulate amp, in line with Michele Arnese, the sonic branding agency’s founder and CEO. Looking forward, amp sees a task for sonic branding across every facet of a brand and is betting that artificial intelligence can boost the strategy by enabling marketers to tailor a sonic brand while maintaining consistency. 

“If you take a look at quite a lot of brands today, there are various which have a sound, but they don’t understand how it’s coming to life in all the communications,” Arnese said. 

Every sound counts

Think in regards to the sound an Xbox makes when it powers up, or a Tesla when it backs up, or, in one among the more comprehensive campaigns amp has worked on, the six-notes a bank card reader makes after completing a Mastercard transaction. All of those are examples of sonic branding, because they’re sounds that exemplify the brands in every area, Arnese said. 

“A very good sonic brand is one which is each immediately recognizable and versatile enough to be adapted to many purposes,” Arnese said. “Good sonic branding will allow a brand to utilize core melodies and riffs in global markets. This may involve the commissioning of well-respected artists in certain localities to reinterpret a brand’s sonic identity in an authentic and culturally relevant way, all while preserving the brand’s core sound.”

Arnese points to amp’s work on Mastercard for instance of such flexibility. The brand is about halfway through a 10-layer sonic branding plan that began with a signature melody and has evolved into an album of songs inspired by the signature created by artists from around the globe. 

“Sonic branding can, and will, exist throughout every facet of a brand. From consumer touchpoints to internal communications and beyond, a brand must be as sonically immersed as possible,” Arnese said. “Every sound shared by a brand must be intentional and connected to a greater sonic identity.”

Indeed, many brands are already creating sound palettes without realizing it. One of the explanations WPP acquired amp is in order that clients may be more intentional in all the ways they reach consumers, per Arnese.

“We are bringing the chance to not consider sound as an afterthought,” he said. “If you launch a campaign with a [signature] sound, you’re making it more thoughtful.”

Turning up the quantity

The thoughtfulness needed for strong sonic branding will take a recent turn as amp, which can join WPP’s design unit, Landor & Fitch, brings more AI into the combination. The brand is ready to release a recent toolset, Sonic Hub, that may use AI to create and manage sonic assets at scale. The approach uses AI to be certain that a brand’s audio content is consistent yet tailored to diverse audiences and touchpoints. 

“AI will not be replacing what we do; it’s a helper,” Arnese said. “It helps differentiate different moments of the method, recognizing uniqueness and converting that into different emotions … It helps to create something recent out of something existing.”

This opportunity to make use of AI for sonic branding will likely amplify its potential for use as a marketing tactic. 

Meanwhile, recent data is demonstrating that closely aligning a brand with a signature sound is a tactic that works. A study by Sentient Decision Science and sonic branding agency Made Music found sound can influence engagement with a brand – each positively and negatively – by 86%. Another study by Audacy and Veritonic found that podcast and radio promoting using sonic branding had 14% higher ad recall and a 2% increase in purchase intent than people who didn’t.