From the iconic roar of the MGM lion at the cinema to the simple three note chimes of NBC ushering an evening of entertainment into your home, the prayerful sounding of the shofar horn or church bells calling people to worship or just the ever-pleasing startup chime of a Mac calling you to get to work, simple sounds of only a second or two in length vividly paint instant visuals in our mind’s eye, filling out our senses with anticipation of pleasing experiences and the comfort of the familiar. You just heard them all in your head, didn’t you? Now hear your morning alarm. Go back to high school or college…do you remember your alarm tone then and how it made you feel? The difference in sensation from hearing the morning bell and afternoon bell in school…one signifying hours of work ahead, one sweet freedom. Like Pavlov’s famous dogs who came running for dinner at the sound of a bell, as we all studied in psychology 101, we humans are programmed just the same. So why aren’t we fully incorporating sound in branding in the ever evolving digital age? We are a visual species. We salivate over pictures of food perfectly styled by marketing teams but how much more powerful is that image when combined with the sound of sizzling meat or fizzing soda. It’s time to take it to the next level.
You’re thinking, sure, we all have access to libraries of digital content, generic sounds to go with generic pictures, at our fingertips ready to go. But why not get specific and let your presence rise from just that…present…to iconic and unforgettable. That’s where unique, custom music and soundscapes can fit into your visual branding. The options are endless.
(Sound design by Sieber)
Music is powerful. It is an integral part of films, start to finish, setting the mood, fleshing out the environment, telling the viewer what to feel as they embark on the journey of the story. A horror film is far less suspenseful without the soundtrack. And every great tv show is introduced by an equally great theme song.
(Sound design by Hevner)
Now let’s simply look at sound. Think about ringtones and text and email alert sounds and how we take the time to choose something that is pleasing to our ear but gets our attention. You don’t want to be out and hear your ringtone or text alert coming from someone else’s device. It’s confusing and disorienting to hear sounds you are familiar with associated with something different than what they mean to you.
(Sound design by Rakowski)
It’s important for this reason in branding to have unique, specific soundscapes to incorporate into your product image. Snapchat is a great example of a platform that has its own sounds that vary from other notifications, providing a unique and pleasing sound world associated with the app which has taken over the communication of an entire generation by storm. Similarly, dating apps have prescribed to their own unique sounds, alerting the user to the exciting possibilities awaiting them, a different sound and sensation from an email alert ding.
I’ve written opera alongside a maestro of La Scala and classical chamber music for Carnegie Hall and at the other end of the spectrum, commercial music for Gieco and scored television music for the BBC. My experience includes classical, electronic, urban, pop, hip-hop, R&B, cinema and more. My team represents the entire music industry from Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum producers, to Tony nominated composers. We have collectively worked behind the scenes with the who’s who of the industry. Our turnaround time is quick and revisions will be made until it’s perfect. Let’s go deep and create a sound world and audio logo to amplify your branding.
Kristin is an expert in creating sounds that will transform your movie, show or brand. Looking for a sound designer to take your brand to the next level? Stop what you’re doing and check out Next Level Sounds.
