Sonic branding is still in the US a fairly new concept and since I launched my company OJC Artisan of Sound last June, I have noticed that most people including marketers have a hard time to envision and conceptualize how to adapt a small piece of music into a broader music ecosystem consistent throughout all audio touchpoints.
Marketing experts want to hear how a sonic identity, that translates the brand’s values and personality into a musical language can be multiplied into various audio assets of different lengths, music genres, and mood and yet still be in tune with its audio DNA.
Mastercard really pushed to the fullest this concept of integrating its unique sound into a cohesive musical language across extensive applications like digital ads, apps, podcasts, and online payments.
The company revealed in February 2019 its sonic identity, a unique and memorable melody that defines who they are as a brand.
Raja Rajamannar, the company’s chief marketing officer explained in a press statement: “Sound adds a powerful new dimension to our brand identity. It is a critical component to how people recognize Mastercard today and in the future.”
Mastercard is a global company. They asked various artists to adapt their musical footprint into various musical pieces to ensure local relevancy while maintaining consistency across cultures.
Bogota
Mumbai
Cape Town
In parallel, a catalog of ready to use music was created, available for usage of various applications series and moods, including playful, awakening and operatic.
Playful
Awakening
Operatic
Reflecting on how they could be present in the daily lives of their customers, they infused their sonic DNA across their 7.6 million payment touch points, where an audio signal can be heard as a prof of payment.
Here is what is sounds like:
Recently, underscoring the many ways their sonic identity can be used beyond traditional means, Mastercard unveiled its first-ever branded music single, a collaboration with Swedish artist Nadine Randle.
The following expert of the song “Merry Go Round” clearly shows how they tied the six note melody to the song.
Merry go round
I hope these examples clearly demonstrated the infinite possibilities for composers and artists to deploy a simple melody into a consistent audio universe, from simple audio cues to much more elaborated musical pieces.
