Mention of sound logos first appeared in
Fast Company to my current knowledge — I found it via a surprisingly neglected Guy Kawasaki post on LinkedIn– but brands are already creating sound logos to compliment their visual logos, and I think this is something that will probably persist as long as there is a Web remaining (that is if the visitors from that visiting cigar-shaped rock don’t end all that). I’ll explain why this is probably good news for everyone, from brands to garage bands.
An extremely brief backstory of sound logos
Sound logos are NOT new. Never heard that little “Intel Inside” 4-note jingle? That, and all other jingles, were actually sound logos (and with all rights reserved to the parties thereto).
The alt text tag was the first hint at what was to be a new and more inclusive Web. We see social media reshaping a lot of people’s ways of thinking on social inclusion, or at least their way of
talking about it, but sound logos are part of the more substantial social inclusivity trend. That’s because a sound logo can be heard by the blind and others who can’t easily process visual cues.
Why sound logos will catch on
What this means for your brand: more brand fans who are either on social media or could become customers, regardless of whether it’s a B2B or B2C brand, an artist, a photography shop, or pretty much whatever. The proof of concept is all around you. Wikipedia, that final last word and bastion of ultimate truth (I kid) is also a social force of sorts and has adopted a sound logo just to show you their serious, despite what all the philosophers, physicists and historians on Facebook are snidely saying.
What are likely use cases for sound logos?
There are lots of ways sound logos will likely be used:
- Radio ads
- A new genre of YouTube ads
- Mobile geofencing
- Website intro (and sound you hear when you click the logo)
- Office lobby entrance sound
- Schema structured data
- Spotify ads (it’s more radio show than video show, after all)
- Billboards (I don’t expect this one to work out)
- (Virtual?) office Christmas party drinking game cues
Fun aside, it’s probably going to be an expanding list that you can’t keep up with soon, and the cost of creating one will be fairly elastic. You should aim for vision and sound production skills, not just the typical marketing agency with the same old menu. There are some out there.
We’re actually one of the marketing agencies exploring sound logos for our clients and ourselves. As a matter of fact, we’re talking to a client right now about how to make a bigger splash by extending the quirky, cool, organic feel of their logo to a suitable sound version.
Wait…so it new or not?
No, of course it’s not new. But it
is a revival of the nostalgic jingle in a new set of conditions prevalent within our digital transformation to cope with the new upheavals that make us long for a forgotten, somehow happier past. And just when we were starting to think it was missing, which it really wasn’t. That’s what we do as human beings. We recreate traditions to keep them going, before they actually disappear because we need to feel the world makes sense again every 40 or so years by recommitting to dying traditions. And it works.
A few very interesting marketers out there (Chris Brogan and Gary Vaynerchuk in particular) have said it in other ways, but
human engagement and a memorable human
experience is what we’re all striving for in the past decade, but we never quite get on its own terms. This will be one way to revive the past charm of the human within the marketplace of buying and selling and, yes, experiencing things. And ultimately, the marketplace is as good a place to find that as any, because it’s where we all seem to live.
Look at what you’re drinking right now. If it’s not a cup of coffee, does it have a label? I thought so. What if it could play a sound logo you really liked every time you picked it up with just the intentional touch of an on-button on the flat label? Would you do it if you loved the brand? Aha.
Should I get one?
Yes, immediately. [checking your website…]
