The webinar explored the power of sonic branding and discussed how, in an increasingly cluttered environment. marketers need to deploy their brand codes to cut through the noise and the clutter and connect with people. Tommy Smith, MD of McCann London explained that when it comes to distinctive assets, if brands are purely relying on visual assets, they are missing out on other senses.
He explained that they had a very intentional strategy in year 1 which was to land the line “Did Somebody Say”. The line was simply repeated as an earworm (the line was said 35 times in a 60 second ad) to ensure people were very clear about the line the brand was communicating. After year1, the creative changed to “Snoop” where the artist literally remixed the year 1 work, adding his authentic self to it and transforming the content into a music video that told stories of how he ate and socialised around food. This is when the campaign added colour, transforming the line into entertainment. Katie Perry, Christina Aguilera and Latto commercials followed, and the creative strategy very intentionally ensured that they use talent that was not only visibly recognisable across demographics but also very well recognised sonically. People needed to be able to hear the artists and recognise immediately who they were.
After just one year I, 71% of UK people could attribute the “Did Somebody Say” slogan to Just Eat (vs 77% for I’m Lovin It to McDonalds) and 41% could spontaneously associate a debranded “Did Somebody Say” jingle with Just Eat. The “Did Somebody say” attribution score is nearly as high as the Just Eat brand logo association score, emphasising that there is much more to brand recognition than a pure logo asset.
Nik Goodman talked about the power of sonic branding and he referred to audio being an important antidote and companion in a challenging world. To cut through and connect with people, he showcased the fact that a sound wave reaches the brain in just 0.05 seconds, faster than the blink of an eye. Brains are really good at identifying sound.
Nik defined sonic branding as “using sound or music to identify a product, service or brand, and to reinforce brand values. And he talked through 5 key rules when it comes to effective sonic branding:
1. Distinctive – does it cut through the noise?
2. Memorable – will people draw an association between it and your brand?
3. Representative – foes the sound capture the essence of your brand?
4. Variable – can you create custom versions to suit different scenarios?
5. Extendable – can you develop your sound across different touch points?
You can find more information by clicking the button below to download the presentation.
