Jo McCrostie and Dirk Soetens think that sound is becoming more important than images for brands.
McCrostie has built an analogy between typography and sound. He said that, in the same way typography gives a certain voice to a brand, audio can do that too. Using a person’s voice instead of written words means that consumers feel even more connected to the content.
Jo McCrostie, the Creative Director at Global UK, reminded the delegates, people are talking a lot more and typing a lot less. So, if you can fit more into less, audio is a vastly unexplored opportunity for advertisers. Additionally, as smart speakers are the fastest growing home technology, if a brand does not have a voice, it is lagging behind.
Dirk Soetens reflected on sonic branding and the importance of having research figures. At VAR, 40,000 observations are done every year to ensure that they measure the passive attention to ads. In a society flooded with advertising, the distinctiveness of the brand comes in many forms, including sound. Sonic logos, for instance, are still a hot trend in multinational companies – Mastercard and Pandora being good recent examples of that.
The research has demonstrated that sounds are more recognisable for consumers and improve the likeability of brands.
It is time to make brands sound louder, so that people can hear them!
