10. Be heard, even when you can’t be seen

There are instances when it may not be possible to use your brand’s visual identity in marketing communications. If you have designed a sonic identity that is intrinsically linked to your visual identity and represents your brand and its values, then in the future, it will be possible for your sonic branding to stand on its own two feet.  Your sonic will, in time, allow you to connect with your consumers through sound alone.

“When you hear the sonic signature of Shell, we’d love to think that even if you can’t see it, you can somehow visualise the Shell logo and feel the whole cachet of the brand with it” - Dean Aragon, VP Brand and CEO – Shell Brands International AG

9. Use music to generate new revenue streams for your brand

By placing music at the heart of a brand’s eco-system, it is possible to put in place a system for generating income. The royalties associated with the ownership of music should incentivise brands to create and manage their own assets. However, long-term planning is a must and a desire to nurture and protect your brand’s musical framework is fundamental to a return on investment.

“All the classic songs you know from Disney films, we have publishing for most of the artists that we sign, as well as other songwriters that write either externally or internally for our artists or film and TV projects.” - Ken Bunt, President, Disney Music Group, Walt Disney Company

8. Transform music into a brand-owned asset

Music has the potential to become a powerful asset for a brand.

Why borrow or lease a piece of music when your brand can create something of its very own? The benefits of ownership include full exclusivity over the music, complete control over how and where the music is used and the added advantage of only having to pay once. One might say its a no brainer!

“Why bother licensing music when you can create a hit of your own?” - Creative director of Martin Agency, Dave Muhlenfeld, says of the “Wonderfilled” anthem that serves as the backbone of all OREO major campaigns.

6. Create An Efficient Way Of Working With Music

Everyone who has ever worked with music knows how time consuming the process can be; from subjective music selections though to negotiations over rights and terms. Audio branding means putting in place a system for managing a brands sound. First step, define some creative guidelines for how your brand stakeholders will search and select music in the future.

“Many CMOs can talk about how important music has been to their campaigns, but for me, it has been a soundtrack to my entire career … at Fiat or Chrysler, music won’t ever be a finishing touch. It will always be a core of the idea.” - Olivier François, CMO and Head of Fiat brand at Chrysler Group and Fiat Group Automobiles

5. Connect With Consumers On An Emotional Level

Music is one of the most immediate and powerful means of connecting with an audience. Marketing is as much about the emotional as it is the rational. Choosing the right music for your brand will help elicit the desired emotional response from your consumers, whether that be joy or moving people to tears. The first step to using music emotively is to develop a clear musical framework. This framework will help to define how little or much you use music to drive the emotional side of your brand’s personality.

“Music has almost become the beat of how Heineken communicates and touches people around the world.” - Anuraag Trikha, Global Brand Communication Director at Heineken