Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wzw2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-16T10:08:19.342Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sonic branding and the aesthetic infrastructure of everyday consumption

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2021

Susie Khamis Open the ORCID record for Susie Khamis [Opens in a new window]  and
Brent Keogh
Susie Khamis*
Affiliation:
University of Technology Sydney, School of Communication, 15 Broadway, Ultimo, Sydney2007, Australia
Brent Keogh*
Affiliation:
University of Technology Sydney, School of Communication, 15 Broadway, Ultimo, Sydney2007, Australia
*
E-mail: susie.khamis@uts.edu.au and brent.keogh@uts.edu.au
E-mail: susie.khamis@uts.edu.au and brent.keogh@uts.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Sonic branding – the sonic expression of a brand's identity – is the audio equivalent of a brand's logo, a sound that is both distinct and adaptable to diverse contexts, and serves to communicate a brand's narrative. Sonic branding has been a feature of marketing strategies for the past two decades, but more recently there has been increased commercial interest in sonic branding, a move from the ‘visual turn’ to the ‘sonic turn’, as voice activation technologies such as Siri, Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant immerse the consumer in a personal encounter across diverse sensory touch points. While there has been significant scholarly discussion in popular music studies of the ways that sound is employed to increase capital in commercial contexts, little has been written to address the ways in which popular music is courted and implicated in brand strategy specific to sonic branding. In this paper, we consider the ways in which sounds are embedded in contemporary brand practice and detail the ways in which popular musicians and genres are complicit partners in ‘branding to the senses’. Here, we focus on two sonic branding case studies – Mastercard and HSBC – which highlight the key role of popular music in constructing the way we ‘hear’ brands.

Type
Article
Information
Popular Music , Volume 40 , Issue 2 , May 2021 , pp. 281 - 296
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aaker, D.A. 1992. ‘The value of brand equity’, Journal of Business Strategy, 13/4, pp. 27–32CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aaker, J.L. 1997. ‘Dimensions of brand personality’, Journal of Marketing Research, August, pp. 347–56CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnese, M. 2019. ‘Sonic branding: Finding your brand's voice in the age of audio’, Admap Magazine, June. https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/admap/sonic-branding-finding-your-brands-voice-in-the-age-of-audio/126598Google Scholar
Arvidsson, A. 2004. ‘On the pre-history of the panoptic sort: mobility in market research’, Surveillance and Society, 1/4, pp. 456–74Google Scholar
Atkinson, R 2007. ‘Ecology of sound: the sonic order of urban space’, Urban Spaces, 44/10, pp. 1905–17Google Scholar
Barley, E. 2018. ‘How HSBC rediscovered its brand purpose’, Event Reports: Festival of Marketing, October, https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/event-reports/how_hsbc_rediscovered_its_brand_purpose/123944Google Scholar
Bastos, W., and Levy, J.S. 2012. ‘A history of the concept of branding: practice and theory’, Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 4/3, pp. 347–68CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Besseny, A., 2020. ‘Lost in spotify: folksonomy and wayfinding functions in Spotify's interface and companion apps’, Popular Communication, 18/1, pp. 1–17CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonner, Michael (2000) ‘An audience with Jean-Michel Jarre’, Uncut, May, p. 16Google Scholar
Boonrod, A., and Ketavan, P. 2018. ‘The future is voice: How voice technology is changing the world of people and brands’, ESOMAR APAC, https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/esomar/the_future_is_voice_how_voice_technology_is_changing_the_world_of_people_and_brands/121996.Google Scholar
Bourne, J. 2019. ‘How Mastercard is leveraging its sonic identity – and evolving brand security in the process’, Marketing Tech, 30 October. https://www.marketingtechnews.net/news/2019/oct/30/how-mastercard-leveraging-its-sonic-identity-and-evolving-brand-security-process/Google Scholar
Bradshaw, A., and Holbrook, M.B. 2008. ‘Must we have Muzak wherever we go? A critical consideration of the consumer culture’, Consumption, Markets and Culture, 11/1, pp. 25–43CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burns, G. 1987. ‘A typology of ‘hooks’ in popular records.’ Popular music, 6/1, pp. 1–20CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carah, N. 2017. ‘Brand value: how affective labour helps create brands’, Consumption, Markets and Culture, 17/4, pp. 346–66CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carah, N., and Angus, D. 2018. ‘Algorithmic brand culture: participatory labour, machine learning and branding on social media’, Media, Culture & Society, 40/2, pp. 178–94CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carruthers, B. 2017. ‘Contextual conversations and sonic branding: why brands need to rethink audio’, Event Reports: IAB Sound Investment, July. https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/event-reports/contextual_conversations_and_sonic_branding_why_brands_need_to_rethink_audio/112040Google Scholar
Chang, W.L., and Chang, Y.T. 2013. ‘Exploring the path from sound to brand on customer intention’, Information, 16/10, pp. 7493–505Google Scholar
de Chernatony, L.and Riley, F.D. 1998. ‘Defining a “brand”: beyond the literature with experts’ interpretations’, Journal of Marketing Management, 14/5, pp. 417–43CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Economic Times (2015) ‘List of the most crowded music concerts in history’, 8 November. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/list-of-the-most-crowded-music-concerts-in-history/articleshow/49702777.cmsGoogle Scholar
Ely, S. 2020. ‘Mastercard unveils its first-ever music single, delivering latest evolution of its sonic brand identity for the next decade’ [Press Release], 7 January. https://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/mastercard-unveils-its-first-ever-music-single-delivering-latest-evolution-of-its-sonic-brand-identity-for-the-next-decade/Google Scholar
Euromonitor. 2019. Passport: HSBC Holdings Plc in Consumer Finance (World), July. https://www.euromonitor.com/hsbc-holdings-plc-in-consumer-finance/reportGoogle Scholar
Fairchild, Charles. 2008. ‘The medium and materials of popular music: “Hound Dog”, turntablism and muzak as situated musical practices’ Popular Music, 27/1, pp. 99–116CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fulberg, P. 2003. ‘Using sonic branding in the retail environment – An easy and effective way to create consumer brand loyalty while enhancing the in-store experience’, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 3/2, pp. 193–8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giuffre, L., and Sharp, L. 2014. ‘Exploring the acoustic environment of the Montreal Metro by doing the “Dou-Dou-Dou”’. Social Alternatives, 33/1, pp. 44–51Google Scholar
Gonzálvez, J.C., and Mochón, F. 2016. ‘Operating an advertising programmatic buying platform: a case study’, International Journal of Interactive Multimedia and Artificial Intelligence, 3, pp. 6–15CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gustafsson, C. 2015. ‘Sonic branding: a consumer-oriented literature review’, Journal of Brand Management, 22/1, pp. 20–37CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardouin, P. 2017. ‘Too big to fail, too big to jail: restoring liability a lesson from HSBC case.’ Journal of Financial Crime. 24/4, pp. 513–519CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hernandez, A. 2012. Narcoland – The Mexican Drug Lords and their Godfathers, trans. Bruce, I. and Fox, L.S. (London, Verso Books)Google Scholar
HSBC. 2019. ‘The sound of HSBC’, 23 January. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGwUcoTj1_2puYSNyk4TQXthXWd8yjTVzGoogle Scholar
Ice, B. 2019. ‘Mastercard takes sonic branding one step further with its first single’, Marketing Mag, 9 January. https://www.marketingmag.com.au/news-c/mastercard-takes-sonic-branding-one-step-further-with-its-first-single/Google Scholar
Jackson, D.M. 2003. Sonic Branding: An Introduction (Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobsen, K. 2018. ‘Cartel Bank’, Dirty Money, Season 1. Netflix.Google Scholar
Jarre, J.M. 2015. ‘Creators can make a difference’, Music Week, 26 June, p. 31Google Scholar
Keller, K.L. 2016. ‘Reflections on customer-based brand equity: perspectives, progress and priorities’, AMS Review, 6/1, pp. 1–16CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, H. 2018. ‘Living with data: aligning data studies and data activism through a focus on everyday experiences of datafication’, Krisis: Journal For Contemporary Philosophy, 1, pp. 18–30Google Scholar
Kite-Powell, J. 2019. ‘Why big brands are using sonic signatures to reach consumers’, Forbes, 8 May. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2019/05/08/why-big-brands-are-using-sonic-signatures-to-reach-consumers/#27bbac38d39cGoogle Scholar
Krishnan, V., Kellaris, J.K., and Aurand, T.W. 2012. ‘Sonic logos: can sound influence willingness to pay?’, Journal of Product & Brand Management, 21/4, pp. 275–84CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lange, B. 2016. ‘The evolution of music tastemakers in the digital age: the rise of algorithms and the response of journalists’, in The Production and Consumption of Music in the Digital Age, ed. Hracs, B.J., Seman, M. and Virani, T.E. (Abingdon, Routledge) [e-book], Chapter 7Google Scholar
Levin, C., and Coburn, T. 2012. US Vulnerabilities to Money Laundering, Drugs and Terrorist Financing: HSBC Case History – Majority and Minority Staff Report, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, United States Senate, 17 July. https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/subcommittees/investigations/hearings/us-vulnerabilities-to-money-laundering-drugs-and-terrorist-financing-hsbc-case-history (accessed 10 March 2020)Google Scholar
Manzerolle, V., and Smeltzer, S. 2011. ‘Consumer databases and the commercial mediation of identity: a medium theory analysis’, Surveillance & Society, 8/3, pp. 323–37CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, W.C. 2017. ‘Discount banking in Mexico’, Studies in Political Economy, 98/3, pp. 263–78CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mastercard News. 2020. ‘Audio press release’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izeEqjeYGgQGoogle Scholar
McGuigan, L., and Manzerolle, V. 2015. ‘“All the world's a shopping cart”: theorizing the political economy of ubiquitous media and markets’, New Media & Society, 17/11, pp. 1830–48CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meier, L.M. 2011. ‘Promotional ubiquitous musics: recording artists, brands, and “rendering authenticity”’, Popular Music and Society, 34/4, pp. 399–415CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mortimer, R. 2005. ‘Sonic branding: branding the perfect pitch’, Brand Strategy, 7 February, pp. 24–7Google Scholar
Newman, A. 2019. ‘Using sound to create a 360-degree brand identity’, Admap Magazine, June. https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/Using_sound_to_create_a_360-degree_brand_identity/126600Google Scholar
Olenski, S. 2016. ‘The story behind Mastercard's new logo’, Forbes, 14 July. https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2016/07/14/the-story-behind-mastercards-new-logo/#95d4acb7198cGoogle Scholar
Palmer, C. 1998. ‘Le tour du monde: towards an anthropology of the global mega-event’, Australian Journal of Anthropology, 9/3, pp. 265–273CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patterson, M., and Larsen, G. 2019. ‘Listening to consumption: towards a sonic turn in consumer research’, Marketing Theory, 19/2, pp. 105–27CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penaloza, L. 1998. ‘Just doing it: a visual ethnographic study of spectacular consumption at Nike Town’, Consumption, Markets and Culture, 2/4, pp. 337–400CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perri 6 (2005) ‘The personal information economy: trends and prospects for consumers’ in The Glass Consumer: Life in a Surveillance Society, ed. Lace, S. (Cambridge, Polity Press), pp. 17–43Google Scholar
Pine, J.B. and Gilmore, J.H. 2011. The Experience Economy (Cambridge, MA, Harvard Business Review Press)Google Scholar
Pridmore, J., and Zwick, D. 2011. ‘Marketing and the rise of commercial consumer surveillance’, Surveillance & Society, 8/3, pp. 269–77CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rettberg, J.W. 2014. Seeing Ourselves Through Technology: How We Use Selfies, Blogs and Wearable Devices to See and Shape Ourselves (Basingstoke, Palgrave)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rikakis, T., Kelliher, A., and Lehrer, N. 2013. ‘Experiential media and digital culture’, Computer, January, pp. 46–54CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romano, W. 2017. ‘Jean-Michel Jarre: 2017 spectacles add to an epic career’, Projection Lights & Staging News, 7 June. https://plsn.com/articles/video-production/jean-michel-jarre-2017-spectacles-add-to-an-epic-career/Google Scholar
Scerri, A. 2002. ‘Triple bottom-line capitalism and the “third place”’, Arena Journal, 20, pp. 57–65Google Scholar
Sterne, J. 1997. ‘Sounds like the mall of America: programmed music and the architectonics of commercial space’, Ethnomusicology, 41/1, pp. 22–50CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stewart, R. 2019. ‘Fresh from revamping its brand Mastercard unveils a sonic logo’, The Drum, 8 February. https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/02/08/fresh-revamping-its-brand-mastercard-unveils-sonic-logoGoogle Scholar
Stoller, P. 1989. The Taste of Ethnographic Things: the Senses in Anthropology (Philadelphia, PA, University of Pennsylvania Press)Google Scholar
Szmigin, I. 2006. ‘The aestheticization of consumption: an exploration of “brand.new” and “Shopping”’, Marketing Theory, 6/1, pp. 107–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tagg, P. 2008. Intel inside analysis. 2008. https://tagg.org/Clips/HTML5/IntelInside0811_VP8.webmGoogle Scholar
Turner, F. 2018. ‘The arts at Facebook: An aesthetic infrastructure for surveillance capitalism’, Poetics, 67, pp. 53–62CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Visard, S. 2019. ‘“It could have gone horribly wrong”: HSBC launches “sound identity” in next phase of global brand refresh’, Marketing Week, 23 January. https://www.marketingweek.com/hsbc-sound-identity-brand-refresh/Google Scholar
Viswanatha, A., and Wolf, B. 2012. ‘HSBC to pay $1.9 billion U.S. fine in money-laundering case’. Reuters, 11 DecemberGoogle Scholar
Wardlaw, A. 2019. ‘Time for brands to reach out to the human senses’, WARC Exclusive, March. https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/warc-exclusive/time-for-brands-to-reach-out-to-the-human-senses/125769Google Scholar
Ware, T. 2016. ‘Jean Michel Jarre’, Electronic Musician, July, pp. 32–8Google Scholar
Wilson, M. 2019. ‘Mastercard just launched a sonic logo. Here's what it sounds like’, Fast Company, 13 February. https://www.fastcompany.com/90305949/mastercard-just-launched-a-sonic-logo-heres-what-it-sounds-likeGoogle Scholar
YouTube (2019) ‘Audio Press Release.’ February 19, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izeEqjeYGgQGoogle Scholar