Sonic Identity VS Jingles: A Sonic Branding Revolution In 2023, What's Next In 2024?

Sound has a powerful impact on emotions and can evoke specific feelings or associations. By carefully designing a sonic identity that aligns with a brand's values and personality, sonic branding can help forge an emotional connection between the brand and its consumers.

Having a sonic signature is not new to the world of advertising and communication. In India, brands like Raymond, Britannia, Titan, etc created memorable audio signatures/jingles that have created a distinct brand asset. However these were not created by design to be part of the brand’s sonic identity, but as a happy outcome of a ‘jingle’ that showed staying power.

Today, there is an increasing need to look at sound through a strategic lens - how it is designed and how it is used. It is important to look at sound as something beyond a mere jingle or campaign sound but as a long term brand building asset.

A jingle and a sonic identity are related concepts in the realm of audio branding, but they serve different purposes and have distinct characteristics, so while both use sound, there are some key differences outlined below.

The primary purpose of a jingle is to enhance recall of a communication message. Jingles are often associated with specific campaigns and are more tactical and short term in nature .

Having a sonic identity on the other hands can help to create a consistent and unique sonic brand that reinforces the brand’s values, enhances brand recognition, and fosters an emotional connection with the audience. It extends beyond advertising to encompass all brand touchpoints. And is long term and enduring in nature.

A jingle unlike a sonic identity is created with the brands ‘campaign idea’ or message. Given brands communicate different messages over time, having just a jingle can becomes restrictive or on the other hand repetitive to the point of being monotonous.

A jingle is more often a catchy, lyrics based song not meant to express a brand’s tonality, whereas a good Sonic identity should evoke the essence of the brand. It is a reflection of the brands personality and includes not only short musical tunes but also a layered soundscape, a MOGO ( or Musical Logo) and other sonic elements that collectively form a brand's unique sound.

The reach and impact of sonic branding can be considerably higher than a jingle. With the rise of social media and constant connectivity, consumers are likely to interact with brands across multiple channels. Having a comprehensive sonic identity system gives brands the advantage of creating ‘sonic consistency’ across various “earpoints” or audio touchpoints over and above TV and Radio, like retail call hold/ IVR, showrooms and retail spaces, social media content, apps, exhibitions, events, internal employee engagement etc whereas a jingle is mostly used on mass media channels.

Our latest work for Fortune foods is a testament on how the sonic identity of the brand can be adapted to create sonic consistency across their TV commercials, one such example being a jingle sung by Padmashree Awardee Malini Awasthi. **

A jingle or anthem can be a one such expression of a brand's sonic identity, but having a sonic identity encompasses a more extensive and cohesive set of sonic elements that contribute to a brand's overall experience

Over the last 2 years, we have seen a significant rise in brands expressing interest in creating sonic identities. Sonic branding is still at its nascent stages and today brand owners and marketers need to start evaluating the strategic role thats sound can play in creating the necessary differentiation, stronger emotional connections with their consumer and and strengthen their overall brand identity.