"A brand is not a logo."
I’ve said those words so many times the people around me have started to roll their eyes.
“Here he goes again.”
I’m undaunted. Unabashed. I pontificate onward. “A brand is the emotional promise created by the sum of every touchpoint between a customer and a company.”
That’s a giant statement. And every time I make it, I’m tacitly admitting there are huge parts of my clients’ brands that are outside my control. Sure, I can recommend the salespeople wear their shirts untucked or that they Windex the windows twice a day. But if they don’t, well, there ain’t much I can do about it.
There are only three elements of a brand I can control.
Fortunately, they’re three really major elements. Together, they can make or break your company.
And sound may be the most important element of all.
“Here he goes again.”
I’m undaunted. Unabashed. I pontificate onward. “A brand is the emotional promise created by the sum of every touchpoint between a customer and a company.”
That’s a giant statement. And every time I make it, I’m tacitly admitting there are huge parts of my clients’ brands that are outside my control. Sure, I can recommend the salespeople wear their shirts untucked or that they Windex the windows twice a day. But if they don’t, well, there ain’t much I can do about it.
There are only three elements of a brand I can control.
Fortunately, they’re three really major elements. Together, they can make or break your company.
- How your brand looks. Its logo, colors and photography style.
- How your brand speaks. Its tone, messages and purpose.
- How your brand sounds.
And sound may be the most important element of all.
Our minds are designed to respond to noise. Maybe that’s because when we were in the womb, that’s all we had? I dunno. But when we hear a noise, it imprints in our echoic memory. This gives us an extra few seconds to analyze the noise and understand it. It also means the noise gets imprinted with meaning.
The result? Ring a dinner bell and Pavlov’s dog wags his tail. Sing ba-da-ba-ba-ba and humans start mainlining Big Macs.
Some scientists think music makes us feel happy because our brains release dopamine when we hear it. Yes, dopamine. The exact same neurotransmitter that makes social media so addictive.
But the dopamine kick you get from music is memorable, not addictive. That’s because your mind decodes it the same way it decodes sentences, poetry and even your favorite Russian novel. (Which should be The Brothers Karamazov, but I digress…)
So far, there’s nothing groundbreaking in any of this. It’s just stuff I picked up as a second-rate musician, frequent Wikipedia reader, and professional ad guy.
Here’s the real news: Sound = Success.
When you add a sonic cue to your brand, the ROI is otherworldly. You probably know this already because the Nationwide jingle and the Intel chime and the State Farm chant are all burned into your brain. But if you want facts, here they are.
A brand that includes sonic cues…
The result? Ring a dinner bell and Pavlov’s dog wags his tail. Sing ba-da-ba-ba-ba and humans start mainlining Big Macs.
Some scientists think music makes us feel happy because our brains release dopamine when we hear it. Yes, dopamine. The exact same neurotransmitter that makes social media so addictive.
But the dopamine kick you get from music is memorable, not addictive. That’s because your mind decodes it the same way it decodes sentences, poetry and even your favorite Russian novel. (Which should be The Brothers Karamazov, but I digress…)
So far, there’s nothing groundbreaking in any of this. It’s just stuff I picked up as a second-rate musician, frequent Wikipedia reader, and professional ad guy.
Here’s the real news: Sound = Success.
When you add a sonic cue to your brand, the ROI is otherworldly. You probably know this already because the Nationwide jingle and the Intel chime and the State Farm chant are all burned into your brain. But if you want facts, here they are.
A brand that includes sonic cues…
- Generates more effective ad campaigns (Kantar, 2023).
- Increases scores for authenticity, uniqueness and likability (MarketingBrew, 2024).
- Is more likely to earn attention and be high performing (IPSOS, 2020).
Hey, you skipped to the end of this post? Good for you.
This is the most important part, anyway. The Coupe folks can help you develop a stronger brand and increase sales. They can give you the tools you need to convince the C-suite to invest in marketing. And they can create a sonic brand that real people will be humming moments after they hear it. And all you got to do is say hello.
[Ed. - I wrote this for the Coupe Studios blog and thought I'd post it here, as well. Hope you enjoyed it.]
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