Welcome to the Sound In Marketing Podcast. I'm your host, Jeanna Isham, owner and founder of Dreamr Productions and Sound In Marketing learning. I create, consult and educate individuals and brands on the power of sound in marketing. The first episode of the Sound In Marketing Podcast aired in mid 2019. Now over 100 episodes strong, I've realized that there's still more to say in this season of the Sound In Marketing Podcast.
We'll be focusing on the thoughts and theories and musings that I formed over my years of experience in sonic branding and sound marketing. If the content in these episodes inspire actionable ideas for your company, don't hesitate to give me a call. This is what I do. This is what I know. I make sound on purpose. Now on to the show. This episode we'll be discussing the difference between a jingle and a Sonic logo. Is one better than the other? Jingles and Sonic logos have often been confused.
So let's start with definitions for both. What is a jingle? A jingle is a short slogan, verse or tune designed to be easily remembered, especially when used in advertising and marketing campaigns. (jingle playing) What is a Sonic logo? A sonic logo, also known as a mnemonic or earworm, is a short auditory phrase of branded sound. (sonic logo playing) Although most associate this with music, sonic means waveforms. Therefore, a sonic logo is any audible phrase or piece of branded sound.
The key difference to note here is that a jingle, although it can turn into a Sonic logo, is originally designed for a project or a campaign. A Sonic logo is designed specifically for a brand jingle. Short shelf life. Sonic logo. Future thinking and long term ROI focused. Okay, now that we've defined these two, let's dig in. (music playing) Seeing as most people are familiar with the word jingle, let's dive into what a Sonic logo is for a second.
When you say the words sound identity, sonic logo, or sonic branding, a lot of people's heads just fill up with a bunch of question marks. I have no idea what that is. That sounds too complicated. That's more extensive or expensive than what I need. Let's just create a jingle for right now and talk about sound identities later on down the line. All of these are reasonable thoughts, and there are plenty of standalone jingles that are fun and product recalling.
However, without considering the whole brand before creating a fun and catchy jingle, the chances of a jingle recalling your brand specifically are just that; chances creating a fun and catchy jingle is relatively easy. Creating a brand recalling sound identity is harder, but much more profitable. Let's step back in time for a minute. And revisit some jingles from the past. Consider the 1970s Meow Mix jingle. Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow.
Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow. Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow. Annoyed yet? If you aren't familiar with the old Meow Mix commercials, Google Meow Mix song. If your little kids are around, please wait because you will get nothing else done for the rest of the day. I'm still getting requests from my daughter to watch it, and it has been years since I first showed it to her. That jingle was made specifically on brand.
Not only did they repeat the brand name over and over again, but it was also the sound of their consumer; a cat. Silly, annoying, and memorable. After watching and or hearing that ad once, you will always remember Meow Mix. It says it in the jingle. In fact, that's all that it says Although the lyrics and yes, there are actual lyrics tell the ingredients and the justification for buying the product. It doesn't matter.
All we really need to see is the cute cat video, dubbing their mouths to appear as if they're talking fancy CG. Back in the day. We as humans are very simple in that way. It's like a viral video classic before viral videos. However, would you want to hear this as the opener to every single branded item of Meow Mix? Probably not. Here's another good example. Give me a break. Break me off a piece of that Give me a break Break me off a piece of that
Kit Kat Bar. It not only mentions the product in the jingle, but it tells you how to eat it. It even makes you move. Try to sing this to yourself without moving at all. Or snapping your fingers or tapping your feet. I dare you. Give me a break. Break me off a piece of that... You couldn't do it, could you? I know. Do you remember the dah dah dah commercial? Da da da. Da da da. Da da da. Very catchy. Simple to remember. Toe tapping and silly.
It was something you talk about around the water cooler. But for the life of me, I couldn't remember what it was for. All that I could remember was some easy chair showing up randomly around town. And for the sake of this argument, I resisted the urge to google it until after I wrote this paragraph. It was for Volkswagen in the mid 90s. Great commercial, but not great for brand recognition. At least not in my case. Another case for original music here.
This was an existing song by a German group named trio. The brand's name was nowhere in the memorable part. Hint, hint. That's a nudge for custom music. If you didn't catch it, the first time. If people remember your video but can't recall the name of your brand, then you might have wasted your marketing dollars. If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it. I think you get what I'm saying. So what about Sonic logos? How do they tie into the jingle? Well, I'm glad you asked.
Let's go back to its definition. A sonic logo is any auditory phrase of branded sound The key here is sound and branding. While a jingle is a catchy little ditty, a sonic logo could be anything from that to a light buzzing sound coming from an electronic device. So could a sonic logo be a jingle? Of course. But it's not limited to just that. The reason this is so important to understand is that times have changed.
Where once a song was really your only relevant way to get your point across sonically. Now we have all the digital things where a buzz or a beep, could tell just as relevant of a story as a tune. Or maybe in context, an even better one. So when did this all come about? Sonic logos specifically have been evolving through the years. 10 or 15 years ago, a concept like Sonic branding was only available to those big brands that could afford a network TV spot.
(music playing) even for them, it wasn't really that front of mind for anyone. For those not so big brands, it was absolutely irrelevant as it was A) far overbudget and B) completely useless when the main source of attainable marketing was print and word of mouth. Websites were just babies at that point. Myspace was there, but well, it was Myspace. It was a brand new thought that no one really knew what to do with, or how to actually use it effectively.
Digital was nothing compared to what it is today. However, today you can do pretty much anything. That is where the birth of sonic branding and sound marketing really took off. I recently produced an episode for the Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast about jingles and how they've died. I'll be sure to post a link in the show notes once it goes live. In that episode, we discuss if the jingle is in fact, dead or not.
My feeling is that although the old school version of the jingle might have gone by the wayside, I foresee a new hybrid form and that is through Sonic logos, ultimately through Sonic branding. Jingles aren't necessarily dead. They're being reborn like a butterfly. Sonic logos and sonic identities are a part of this new world of opportunity for the jingle. Think of the old once you pop you can't Stop slogan from Pringles.
What if they had considered creating a personalized Pringles pop to go along with their 90s commercial campaign? Oh wait, they did. Thank you to Stomp for that inspiration, I'm sure. But what if they'd gone further? What if the pop was at the end of their ads, but also part of their website? Maybe even included in shelf displays in one way or another?
Maybe it could catch on so much that some crazy TikToker does some viral post, including the pop linking Pringles to it, and driving an increase of sales and traffic to their site as a result. Maybe because this was done in the 90s, there wasn't that foresight, but Tostitos caught on. This is what happens when we let scoops direct their own ads. Nailed it. Tostitos Made Music created a fun, experiential sonic logo for the brand in 2022. Here's another one.
Philips partnered with Massive Music to do a bit of a hybrid logo, using the actual light bulb as part of the instrumentation. (Music Playing) or what about this? (SFX) I actually used a Shasta color for that one, but we all know that your mind went to Coca-Cola, does a Tostitos chip, a Philips light bulb, and a Coca-Cola have a different sound than their competitors? Not really, but they are the ones that took that sound and claimed it as their own.
Now, if Mission Tortilla GE or Shasta Cola want to use that iconic sound, it will be benefiting their competitor slightly more than them. Just because the groundwork had already been laid. Do you kind of see where I'm getting it? A commercial is important, but brand building is long term. Am I saying that the jingle should go away and never come back? No way. I love jingles. They are fun and shareable, and I can still sing. The ones I heard back in the 80s like it was yesterday.
In fact, I want more. But what I want to see is brands stretching those jingles out of their corny shells, no pun intended into a more branded sentiment. Most of the success of past jingles were that they had easily accessible tunes and lyrics. That's always what I aim for when designing a sonic logo. If you get too highbrow or complicated, you lose the listeners attention and that relatability. It goes away.
The ability to recall it on your own by humming it or tapping it later, it goes away as well. By having tunes and lyrics that are more simplistic. You create a massively successful recall track record. There's power in that corn. Let's just try and aim for some of that yummy caramel corn instead. So with all of that being said, my prediction is that Sonic logos are the new jingle. Sonic branding is a hybrid of something old and something new.
It caters to that high recall connection that the jingles from yesteryear created, while adopting the importance of cultural significance and social media branding that is prevalent today. Sonic logos bring the jingle into the branding world. Thank you to Audio Hero for all those fun fillers, sound effects to Meow Mix, Kit Kat, Volkswagen, Tostitos and Pringles for some excellent examples and to Lucas McFall agency.
Michael Levine, Trio, Made Music, and massive music for actually creating these iconic songs and sounds. Also in. There are a few examples of my own sprinkled throughout. If you can find them, you win a sticker. For those interested, I would love to chat with you further about your sound presence and sonic strategy. Send me a message at www.DreamrProductions.com. That's www.DreamrProductions.com, or you can find me on LinkedIn or Twitter. All links will be provided in the show notes.
Let's make this world of sound more intriguing, more unique, and more and more on brand.