The 5 Most Common Sonic Identity Gaps for Brands — And How to Fix Them
Most brands don’t have a music problem – they have a sonic identity problem. In today’s media landscape, brands are heard across countless platforms from broadcast to streaming, social, retail, immersive, and more. Without a cohesive sonic system, a brand’s sound can feel disjointed, missing opportunities to connect with audiences on a deeper level – a gap forms between brand intention and audience perception.
Research shows that distinctive brand assets play a significant role in driving long-term recognition – sound is one of the most effective, and coincidentally one of the least used [Source: Ipsos, The Power of You]. Not only that, audio has proven to be the number one brand asset when it comes to improving brand awareness, as much as 191% [Source: System1, The Long (And Short) Form of It]
Yet many brands still treat sound on a campaign-by-campaign basis rather than as a strategic brand asset, leaving a lot of sonic equity on the table. Here are the five most common sonic identity gaps we see with major brands – and how to close them.
Gap #1 – One And Done
Many brands believe they have a sonic identity because they have an audio logo or mnemonic, filling the rest of their audio needs with stock music or ad-hoc selections. While a sonic logo is a key component of a sonic brand strategy, relying on it solely can make your brand sound inconsistent.
The fix is to expand a single asset into a full sonic language, setting guardrails around musical attributes like genre, tempo, melody, instrumentation, and rhythm. By moving from a singular sonic asset to a strategic audio language, brands gain flexibility and stronger recognition.
Gap #2 – Siloed Sound
Some brands choose music based on media platform – broadcast might sound cinematic, social might sound poppy or trendy, UX might sound like boops and beeps, and retail might sound energetic. It’s true that the platform (and message) plays a role in determining your optimal sound, however it should not be the sole determinant. Audiences don’t experience brands in silos, and inconsistency with audio can chip away at recognition in the same way it would for any other brand asset.
Fixing this gap means anchoring your audio choices in a shared identity. The same sonic DNA should scale from half-second interactions to long-form storytelling and immersive environments. This isn’t to say you should use the same music everywhere, rather that your musical selections should have some commonalities that feel distinctly like you.
Gap #3 – Pure Emotion
Music is often selected because it ‘feels right,’ and subjectivity is important when making brand audio choices. However, subjectivity without defined emotional guardrails can cause a brand’s sound to drift, along with audience focus.
Strong brands align their unique sound to emotional brand attributes and validating those choices with audience insight. Sonic testing tools, like those SAM incorporates through SoundOut, enable creative decision makers to supplement instinctual audio choices with those that closely match a brand’s emotional attributes. The result is audio that speaks to the brand as much as it does the moment.
Gap #4 – Sonic Ownership
Most brands and agencies have experts in graphic design, copywriting, and marketing strategy, but the role of Creative Audio Director is still emerging in the corporate space. Without this role, audio selection often falls to music-minded designers and creatives who can be effective in the moment, but often lack long-term audio accountability – gradually widening the sonic identity gap.
Without ownership, a brand’s sonic identity scales more slowly, and it becomes harder to maintain consistently across platforms, regions, and formats. Not only do you need someone responsible for implementing the sonic strategy, but they also need to be fluent at translating emotional attributes into audio from custom and production music to sound design and voiceovers. This level of ownership streamlines the creative process by simplifying audio decisions and ensuring consistent delivery of the sound strategy
Gap #5 – Secondary Sounds
Brands often focus on big audio moments like custom idents, campaigns, long-form anthems, and sonic logos, while overlooking the less-flashy moments – e.g. UX sounds, transitional sounds, and production music. It’s only natural, but in many ways, these secondary sounds generate as much if not more engagement than the primary audio.
Every touchpoint says something about the brand, and while these sounds might not be the focus of your messaging, they provide a continuity that gives it a buttoned-up, intentional tone.
Approaching all of your brand audio with this level of consideration ensures a much tighter sonic identity gap.
Closing the sonic identity gap means building and adhering to a scalable system, one that enables regular testing for emotional impact and has clear ownership and accountability. Brands that close these gaps move faster, spend less reinventing, and build long-term equity through sound.