Top Ten Benefits of Audio Branding
Top Ten Benefits of Audio Branding
Top Ten Benefits of Audio Branding
Sonicbrand
22 Jul 2025
Sonicbrand
22 Jul 2025
Sonicbrand
22 Jul 2025
Audio Branding Benefits
We hae been publishing our top tips for the effective use of music in branding. This is our top 10.
Audio Branding Benefits
We hae been publishing our top tips for the effective use of music in branding. This is our top 10.
Audio Branding Benefits
We hae been publishing our top tips for the effective use of music in branding. This is our top 10.
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
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
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
4. Appealing To A Younger Audience Through Music
Music is one of the most recognised passion points for generation X and Y. It is also the most talked-about subject on social media. The challenge is how to insert your brand into these conversations in relevant and interesting ways. With a strategy in place that creates new experiences and moments around music, it is sure to resonate with the younger generation and help forge indelible memories that are intrinsically linked back to your brand.
“Sprite tapped into Hip-Hop culture 30yrs ago with our ad featuring Kurtis Blow … The Sprite ‘Obey Your Verse’ campaign is not only an acknowledgment of the genre’s best storytellers, but also a way of inspiring and empowering our fans to be true to themselves.” - Bobby Oliver, Brand Marketing Director at Sprite
3. Stand out from your competitors
It’s a noisy world out there, so use music to give your brand a distinctive edge.
Treating the sound of your brand as carefully as you do its tone of voice and visual identity, is key. First, ask yourself ‘is the sound of my brand intentional?’ and then ‘is it exclusive to my brand’? One role for marketing and communications is to make your audience sit up and take notice. If you create something unique that feels in keeping with your brand, you are more likely to find a clear and distinctive place within your market landscape.
“The campaign’s goal is to break through the car sales-event clutter and remind people that summer is the best time to get a great deal” - Susie Rossick, Assistant Vice President of Marketing at Honda, says of Honda’s latest Music-Themed Campaign
2. Audio Branding Drives Familiarity
The key to using music strategically is to use it often, consistently and in line with your audience’s tastes and habits. Use it to drive memorability and recognition in a crowded market-place by adopting our ‘recency, relevancy, frequency’ model.
“From distributing sheet music for family sing-a-longs in 1905 and “teaching the world to sing” in the 1971 “Hilltop” commercial, to a partnership with Spotify in 2012, Coca-Cola has used music to tell its brand story and bring its campaigns into the pop culture lexicon for over a century.” - Joe Belliotti, Head of Global Music for The Coca-Cola Company
1. More Branded Moments. Sound is everywhere.
Go beyond how you look and feel and begin to harness its power. Make sure you use every opportunity for music and sound to reinforce your brand and its personality. And don’t leave it to chance. Use it to connect and form long-lasting relationships with your consumers.
“Music has played a pivotal role in our stores for over 40 years and we have been at the forefront of how to integrate it into a retail environment.” Together with Spotify, Starbucks has built a differentiated third-place experience with music at the heart of its coffeehouse culture.” - Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO of Starbucks
4. Appealing To A Younger Audience Through Music
Music is one of the most recognised passion points for generation X and Y. It is also the most talked-about subject on social media. The challenge is how to insert your brand into these conversations in relevant and interesting ways. With a strategy in place that creates new experiences and moments around music, it is sure to resonate with the younger generation and help forge indelible memories that are intrinsically linked back to your brand.
“Sprite tapped into Hip-Hop culture 30yrs ago with our ad featuring Kurtis Blow … The Sprite ‘Obey Your Verse’ campaign is not only an acknowledgment of the genre’s best storytellers, but also a way of inspiring and empowering our fans to be true to themselves.” - Bobby Oliver, Brand Marketing Director at Sprite
3. Stand out from your competitors
It’s a noisy world out there, so use music to give your brand a distinctive edge.
Treating the sound of your brand as carefully as you do its tone of voice and visual identity, is key. First, ask yourself ‘is the sound of my brand intentional?’ and then ‘is it exclusive to my brand’? One role for marketing and communications is to make your audience sit up and take notice. If you create something unique that feels in keeping with your brand, you are more likely to find a clear and distinctive place within your market landscape.
“The campaign’s goal is to break through the car sales-event clutter and remind people that summer is the best time to get a great deal” - Susie Rossick, Assistant Vice President of Marketing at Honda, says of Honda’s latest Music-Themed Campaign
2. Audio Branding Drives Familiarity
The key to using music strategically is to use it often, consistently and in line with your audience’s tastes and habits. Use it to drive memorability and recognition in a crowded market-place by adopting our ‘recency, relevancy, frequency’ model.
“From distributing sheet music for family sing-a-longs in 1905 and “teaching the world to sing” in the 1971 “Hilltop” commercial, to a partnership with Spotify in 2012, Coca-Cola has used music to tell its brand story and bring its campaigns into the pop culture lexicon for over a century.” - Joe Belliotti, Head of Global Music for The Coca-Cola Company
1. More Branded Moments. Sound is everywhere.
Go beyond how you look and feel and begin to harness its power. Make sure you use every opportunity for music and sound to reinforce your brand and its personality. And don’t leave it to chance. Use it to connect and form long-lasting relationships with your consumers.
“Music has played a pivotal role in our stores for over 40 years and we have been at the forefront of how to integrate it into a retail environment.” Together with Spotify, Starbucks has built a differentiated third-place experience with music at the heart of its coffeehouse culture.” - Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO of Starbucks
4. Appealing To A Younger Audience Through Music
Music is one of the most recognised passion points for generation X and Y. It is also the most talked-about subject on social media. The challenge is how to insert your brand into these conversations in relevant and interesting ways. With a strategy in place that creates new experiences and moments around music, it is sure to resonate with the younger generation and help forge indelible memories that are intrinsically linked back to your brand.
“Sprite tapped into Hip-Hop culture 30yrs ago with our ad featuring Kurtis Blow … The Sprite ‘Obey Your Verse’ campaign is not only an acknowledgment of the genre’s best storytellers, but also a way of inspiring and empowering our fans to be true to themselves.” - Bobby Oliver, Brand Marketing Director at Sprite
3. Stand out from your competitors
It’s a noisy world out there, so use music to give your brand a distinctive edge.
Treating the sound of your brand as carefully as you do its tone of voice and visual identity, is key. First, ask yourself ‘is the sound of my brand intentional?’ and then ‘is it exclusive to my brand’? One role for marketing and communications is to make your audience sit up and take notice. If you create something unique that feels in keeping with your brand, you are more likely to find a clear and distinctive place within your market landscape.
“The campaign’s goal is to break through the car sales-event clutter and remind people that summer is the best time to get a great deal” - Susie Rossick, Assistant Vice President of Marketing at Honda, says of Honda’s latest Music-Themed Campaign
2. Audio Branding Drives Familiarity
The key to using music strategically is to use it often, consistently and in line with your audience’s tastes and habits. Use it to drive memorability and recognition in a crowded market-place by adopting our ‘recency, relevancy, frequency’ model.
“From distributing sheet music for family sing-a-longs in 1905 and “teaching the world to sing” in the 1971 “Hilltop” commercial, to a partnership with Spotify in 2012, Coca-Cola has used music to tell its brand story and bring its campaigns into the pop culture lexicon for over a century.” - Joe Belliotti, Head of Global Music for The Coca-Cola Company
1. More Branded Moments. Sound is everywhere.
Go beyond how you look and feel and begin to harness its power. Make sure you use every opportunity for music and sound to reinforce your brand and its personality. And don’t leave it to chance. Use it to connect and form long-lasting relationships with your consumers.
“Music has played a pivotal role in our stores for over 40 years and we have been at the forefront of how to integrate it into a retail environment.” Together with Spotify, Starbucks has built a differentiated third-place experience with music at the heart of its coffeehouse culture.” - Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO of Starbucks
United Kingdom
4th Floor, Elsley Court
20-22 Great Titchfield St
London W1W 8BE
T. +44(0)70 123 456
e. info@sonicbrand.com
Netherlands
Keizersgracht 174-V
1016 DW Amsterdam
Netherlands
T. +31 6 10888010
e. info@sonicbrand.com
Saudi Arabia
Kifah Tower, 9198 King Fahd Road, Al Qashlah، 4th Floor, Dhahran 34232, Saudi Arabia
T. +44(0)7855 662 772
e. info@sonicbrand.com
United Kingdom
4th Floor, Elsley Court
20-22 Great Titchfield St
London W1W 8BE
T. +44(0)70 123 456
e. info@sonicbrand.com
Netherlands
Keizersgracht 174-V
1016 DW Amsterdam
Netherlands
T. +31 6 10888010
e. info@sonicbrand.com
Saudi Arabia
Kifah Tower, 9198 King Fahd Road
Al Qashlah، 4th Floor, Dhahran 34232
Saudi Arabia
T. +44(0)7855 662 772
e. info@sonicbrand.com
United Kingdom
4th Floor, Elsley Court
20-22 Great Titchfield St
London W1W 8BE
T. +44(0)70 123 456
e. info@sonicbrand.com
Netherlands
Keizersgracht 174-V
1016 DW Amsterdam
Netherlands
T. +31 6 10888010
e. info@sonicbrand.com
Saudi Arabia
Kifah Tower, 9198 King Fahd Road
Al Qashlah، 4th Floor, Dhahran 34232
Saudi Arabia
T. +44(0)7855 662 772
e. info@sonicbrand.com
United Kingdom
4th Floor, Elsley Court
20-22 Great Titchfield St
London W1W 8BE
T. +44(0)70 123 456
e. info@sonicbrand.com
Netherlands
Keizersgracht 174-V
1016 DW Amsterdam
Netherlands
T. +31 6 10888010
e. info@sonicbrand.com
Saudi Arabia
Kifah Tower, 9198 King Fahd Road
Al Qashlah، 4th Floor, Dhahran 34232
Saudi Arabia
T. +44(0)7855 662 772
e. info@sonicbrand.com