This week from There, There: Brand Sounds

Sonic branding and matching the message with the medium.

Scott Galloway called this election the Podcast Election. He’s not alone, the media is in a tizzy about the impact - both influence and reach - of the few. Hosts like Joe Rogan are reaching tens of millions each week (Galloway’s article has some great stats).

All of this attention reminded us of a piece from Gary Vaynerchuck on branded sound. In 2019 on the eve of Clubhouse’s launch (and rapid demise), Vaynerchuck wrote about the importance of what he called sonic branding (here). The article is worth a read for its foresight, less so its insight. 

But what insight do you need in sonic branding? Extending a brand into a new medium demands consistency, not novelty. Here’s our weekly reminder that brand building is world building. You do not need a sound strategy, you need a brand strategy that your sound can align with. Consistency is your most powerful tool in brand building. 

It's less the sound a brand chooses, more so, how brands use sound. That is, sonic branding isn’t necessarily “hey this is what our logo sounds like” as Vaynerchuck shows. Moreso, it’s “hey this is what our world sounds like.” Take for instance, this Etsy ad that opens up with the joyful sounds of getting the perfect gift. It even comes down to song choice - we talked to Mark about how Earfquake completely changed the context of last week's graduation post.

This is not novel, nor is it limited to sound. How you show up impacts the reception of your message and shapes the perception of your brand. It’s a subtle signal of your commitment to your customer - for instance, a lazy, half-baked YouTube ad with a lofi stock music track, interrupting Derek’s Radiohead Live at 2006 Bonnaroo marathon doesn’t do much to improve his perception of your brand (ahem, Nike). Similarly, lazy podcast host reads that are inauthentic and parroting your selling points are a missed opportunity. We’re huge fans of Pivot’s podcast, but, with few exceptions the announcer reads are stale and boring (just listen to the first few reads of this week’s podcast). But when you get Scott genuinely excited or on a product he actually uses like Anthropic the vibe is completely different. 

Like Etsy, AirBnb’s YouTube ad game is genuinely lovely - a good use of sound design complemented by music that aligns with the story (and actually sounds good). 

It’s not just ads. As auto brands have gone electric they’re faced with the existential question of what should they sound like? Each manufacturer is choosing their own sound and it impacts how we experience the vehicles. 

This seems as good a place as any to quote the famous Buckaroo Banzai (and many others) “No matter where you go, there you are.” You cannot escape your brand. But you also cannot escape the media you’re in. Showing up out of context may say more about what you have to say than the message itself. There will always be exceptions - this week we saw one from Volvo as pointed out by a Marketing Director at McDonald's, Guillaume Huin. Volvo defied social norms with a 3 min overly produced story on Instagram. It breaks the best practices of social - overly produced, long etc, but it’s a great story and great stories transcend mediums. 

As we think about 2025 planning we need to think about how we’re maximizing all media formats and that includes audio. We need to find partners genuinely excited about the brand and leverage that excitement and if we can’t, let’s consider producing our own - and when we do, let’s think about not just the words, but the world we create.

Thanks for being here.