Tag Archives: brand values

Term 7: Sound Identity

Sound Identity (Sound ID) is the consistent development of a unique acoustic identity for a brand. Along the lines of the visual identity the acoustic elements are derived from the brand values and the brand positioning. The objective is to create a consistent identity with a strong recognition value. Key areas of design are: sound branding elements, soundscapes, soundmarks and brand voice.

Do you agree or disagree with this definition? Is anything missing in the definition we use? Please post your ideas in the comments section.

Advertisement

Pioneers of Sound Branding: Siemens

A few weeks ago the Sound Branding Blog was able to talk to Jürgen Barthel, Head of Corporate Design at Siemens. Jürgen Barthel is involved in Brand Management at Siemens. He was one of the pioneers to acknowledge the importance of corporate sound and is the Master Mind behind the acoustic identity of Siemens.

Jürgen Barthel who studied graphic design combines extensive experience from companies as diverse as Grundig, Rosenthal, and Siemens, as well as from his years at the advertising agency Publicis. Continue reading

Are your sounds becoming brand assets?

Are your sound elements becoming brand assets? I found an interesting blog post by Jenni Romaniuk on Randall Beard’s Blog which is describing how you can understand, identify, and build distinctive brand assets.

She states that music, jingles, and sounds can become distinctive assets, just like logos, colors, shapes, characters, or fonts. As examples she uses the Aflac duck, the Nike Swoosh, and Mastercard’s priceless advertising. For Europeans or Germans Milka‘s purple cow or Telekom’s “di-di-di-dii-di” are equivalent examples.

For these elements to become a real asset for the brand it is not enough to be used as part of the brand identity. The specific element has to be unique and prevalent. Only then this element can help to support brand identification or even replace the brand name in communication efforts.  Continue reading