The Story

We like to tell Creative Brand Communications’ clients, colleagues and the world at large that brands can be touched, tasted, seen, smelled and heard. All of them. So I thought we’d take a few minutes and dive into each one, because they’re not common sense for most people. Let’s start with sound for today.

Brands can be heard. Now, if you’re doing bank marketing or credit union marketing, there’s one obvious meaning to this: the music you have in your branches. And it’s a good example. Pump in jazz and you’ll provide a different feeling than if you pump in country or indie rock.

Great—that’s a start. But that’s not the extent to which you can use sound to create a distinct brand experience. Think broader, and less literal. We’re talking about any way you can align your brand identity with sound. Here are some quick examples to consider.

What if your brand’s story involves fun or happiness? Isn’t that maybe an opportunity to align your brand with the sound of laughter? I’d say so. Now think of the many ways you could incorporate the sound of laughter into the experiences people have with you. Encourage your tellers to laugh more, sponsor a joke telling contest, surprise your customer with the most contagious laugh with $100. Whatever…just begin associating yourself with that sound.

Here’s another quick one. What if you have brand equity in the special coffee you serve at your branches (like a certain brand we know, Umpqua Bank). Isn’t there a distinct sound we coffee lovers have come to associate with the anticipation of a great cup of coffee—that lovely gurgle your coffee maker blurts out just as it’s finishing its brew? Why not make sure the coffee makers you use in your branches emit that sound?

Just examples off the top of my head here, folks, but the point is this: once you know what your brand story is about, don’t forget about sound as a tool to prove the story. Your brand can be heard.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 20th, 2007 at 9:18 pm and is filed under Bank Branding, Credit Union Branding, Bank Marketing, Touch points, Experiential Marketing, Credit Union Marketing, Umpqua Bank Marketing & Branding, Multisensory Marketing and 5 Senses Branding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.