sound branding [my favorite sounds]
I’m fascinated by how jingles, musical tones and particular voices can instantly conjour up imagery and brand messages. Some are more obvious than others, such as the Intel tone or State Farm jingle.
But have you noticed the missed opportunities for sound branding that surround (sorry) us? Such as our commuter rail system Metrolink here in Southern California, when the doors close the train car emits quite possibly the most unpleasant sound you could design. And when conductors make announcements, they just start speaking into the microphone. Sometimes it’s defining, sometimes it’s a whisper. Fail.
On the other hand, Amtrak has a tone that plays before announcements that is quite pleasant. What’s more, the tone functions to say ‘hey you! listen! this is important.’ I can’t tell you how many times I missed what the Metrolink conductor was saying because I wasn’t paying attention.
In places like Japan and France, I encountered pleasant and memorable sound brands on public transportation and in public places. What a great idea! Why don’t we have this here?
If anyone knows how to brand a physical structure it is Disney. Background music, or BGM as it is called is constantly found around the parks and resorts…even in bathrooms! It’s actually quite eery when there is no music at the park. Everyone seems to notice when there isn’t music, but I don’t think people appreciate how much detail and differentiation there is in the music and tones. General Electric used to present Illuminations, a light, firework and water show hosted daily at EPCOT World Showcase and the exit music for the 25th anniversary version of the show ended every segment with the GE jingle.
Here is the GE “we bring good things to life” jingle in an ad from 1986
And in this clip you can hear it appended to the end of each song segment.
Illuminations Exit Music: Illuminations 25 Exit Music
My second favorite, is the SNCF railway passenger announcement tone. I heard this for the first time in Paris.
SNEF:SNCF France Train Tone
There are lots more examples. Can you think of any places that need a sound branding refresh?