Sonic branding pumps up the noise of your brand. It’s where strategic marketing meets captivating music and sound to amplify your brand into the consciousness of your audience across your entire brand ecosystem.
TUNE IN YOUR SONIC BRANDING
We are experts in crafting pitch perfect sound to maximise the impact of your brand.
Case Studies
nib
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Brief
nib Health Insurance, a prominent Australian health insurance provider, approached our agency with the challenge of creating a distinctive sonic identity that embraced their new playfully ironic tagline, "As exciting as health insurance gets." This endeavor included developing a brand music track for a TV campaign with an understated humorous tone, crafting a sonic logo to be seamlessly integrated into all NIB communications in perpetuity and to cast the perfect voice for nib morning forward.
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Strategy
Our strategy was to infuse nib's brand with a unique sonic identity that not only aligned with their values but also resonated humorously with their audience. This involved creating a brand music track with various iterations to suit different communications that captured the essence of the tagline and a sonic logo for consistent application across all communications.
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Creative
The new nib brand music track took center stage in the TV campaign, complementing the visual content with a touch of wit. The sonic logo, strategically placed at the end of all communications, maintained a consistent brand presence, emphasizing the lighthearted side of health insurance. The sonic logo, featuring a human whistle, has already become an integral part of nib's communications, leaving audiences with a memorable and lighthearted impression that reinforces the brand identity.
Binge
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Brief
Develop the new sonic logo for Australia’s most exciting entertainment streaming service.
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Strategy
We created an exciting distinctive and memorable sting that captures the anticipation of bingeing a great show.
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Creative
We infused the build of a drumroll into the sting to generate anticipation and excitement whilst incorporating the word Binge into the sonic wth the human voice, setting it uniquely apart from all its competitors.
Medibank
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Brief
Create a completely new sonic identity for Medibank that encompasses the following pillars: Caring, Inspiring, and Courageous.
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Strategy
Evolve the significant brand heritage associated with Medibank’s iconic ‘80s brand jingle ‘I Feel Better Now’ in addition to a music suite for use across all communications.
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Creative
S&W engaged the help of a string quartet drawn from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to record the sonic logo. We also composed a suite of brand tracks utilising the same sonic palette as the mnemonic.
Event Cinemas
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Brief
Create a sonic palette for Event Cinema and its seven sub-brands that brings the big screen and surround sound to life.
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Strategy
To differentiate Event’s sub brands whilst maintaining a consistent theme woven through all soundtracks.
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Creative
S&W used the same melodic motifs and chord progressions to create a family of wildly different styles of our brand music. Some were more electronic and contemporary in style, while others were orchestral. The final result was a sonic palette consisting of over 200 assets.
Westinghouse
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Brief
Our brief was to create a sonic logo for Westinghouse, one of the worlds best known appliance companies. Their new line "Happy To Help" gave us the springboard to create an upbeat, unique and memorable sonic that sings to their brand values of respect, excellence, creativity, integrity and passion. ‘Happy to Help’ works across all the brand’s sub-categories and positions Westinghouse as the quiet, reliable helping hand in Aussie homes that, when called upon, will step up and help out so you can get back to living.
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Strategy
The sonic branding needed to encapsulate all the brand pillars and celebrate family life, full of optimism and human emotion. The sonic was launched at the end of their brand new TVC that Smith & Western also worked on. The commercial tells the story of a dinner party gone wrong, thanks to a lively Grey Morwong fish who has other plans – with Westinghouse quietly stepping up to the plate to save the day. It’s a deliberate play by Westinghouse to step change the categories stereotypes and conventions by using humour and a story to emotionally connect with consumers who’ve been drowning in rational category messaging. Smith & Western composed a dynamic and frenetic drum track that seamlessly culminates in the first outing of the sonic logo.
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Creative
The sonic features dynamic sound design and a female vocalist singing their new tagline "Happy To Help" to a memorable 4-note melody.
CPS
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Brief
Known as CPS, Central Place Sydney is a massive new precinct in Sydney’s south CBD, that will become home to tomorrow’s game changers. Our brief was to create a brand music suite of 5 original music tracks that mean something to the local area surrounding CPS, incorporating a diverse representation from the community in order to create a sense of place for the building and help it stand out in the crowded marketplace.
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Strategy
S&W created a sensory experience that captures the diverse personality and energy of the neighbourhood called CPSounds. The 5 track EP contains original compositions created solely for the purpose of this project and all feature the CPS brand melody/Sonic logo as an element to keep all the tracks on brand as a family. We incorporated musical genres specific to the sub cultures that make up the vibrant precinct.
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Creative
CPSounds was created to deliver a unique sonic signature - brought to life across 5 original tracks. CPSounds is a sensory experience that captures the diverse personality and energy of the neighbourhood through an original sonic branding experience that could only have been created in the streets and spaces around it.
Panadol
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Brief
Refresh Panadol’s sonic palette for their Rethink Care platform.
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Strategy
Create a top down audio branding solution that stems from a master brand track – including additional iterations to keep the brand messaging consistent across all of Panadols individual sub-brands.
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Creative
S&W composed a modern uplifting theme featuring a repeating four-note mnemonic for the Panadol Masterbrand. We then adapted the instrumentation for Children’s Panadol and Panadol Extra.
Kayo
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Brief
Capture the heart and soul of what is considered the ‘Netflix of sport’ in a 3-second sonic logo.
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Strategy
Use sounds from the world of sports to create a unique identity synonymous only to Kayo.
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Creative
S&W sound designed a mnemonic that combined iconic sounds from different sports to create something that accentuates Kayo’s animated brand logo.
AWARD Awards
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Brief
Bring to life AWARD’s new strategic positioning of ‘the pointy end of creativity’.
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Strategy
Develop a sonic brand that captures its future-focused philosophy while acknowledging its incredible heritage.
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Creative
S&W created a truly unique, modern, and edgy brand track that breaks free from convention while capturing the forward thinking AWARD brand. The sonic logo is dynamic, fresh, and captivating.
Flash
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Brief
To create the Sonic Logo for Flash, the world's first news streaming platform
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Strategy
To create a fresh, modern perspective on the news theme that represents the exciting and dynamic product that is Flash
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Creative
S&W shifted famous news theme tropes into a modern minimalist punchy sonic logo that personifies the fast changing world of news
TapTap
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Brief
Our brief was to create a fun, striking and memorable sonic logo for TapTap's online gaming platform to pair seamlessly with their unique motion logo.
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Strategy
The online gaming community is massive. TapTap wanted to stand out amongst their competition with this charming and fun sonic that exists in their brand universe across all platforms.
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Creative
Our sonic brings life to the crazy TapTap animated characters as they smash together to reveal the logo, using synthesised sound design born out of the gaming world and the use of a sampled human voice saying the name TapTap.
Worley
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Brief
Worley went through a complete rebrand in 2023. Building on the foundations of the past 50 years and reflecting the common purpose of their people, led them to their brand positioning, to be the straight talking partner the industry needs to make sustainable transformation a reality. The refreshed Worley brand is distinctive and vibrant. Our job was to create a sonic logo that reflected
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Strategy
Inspired by the planet which Worley want to protect, S&W's approach was inspired by the air that we breath, the thermal energy that nurtures life, the plants that keep us nourished and the deep blue sea.
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Creative
Using a blend of the human voice, clapping, modern synthetic sounds and a memorable upbeat melody, S&W's brand new Worley sonic logo elicits an emotional response: An uplifting, positive ambiance that reflects the new Worley brand positioning.
What’s all the noise about?
Why Sonic Branding matters?
As the world tunes into audio, sonic branding is becoming the heartbeat of the modern brand identity. The evidence is loud and clear, a uniquely crafted audio identity can ramp up brand recognition and recall exponentially.
Building your Sonic Identity
We create sonic identities that maximise your brands impact through strategic use sound, music, and voice. Whether it’s a suite of brand music, a sonic logo, podcast, TV commercial or even button noises on an app – our custom brand soundtracks ensure consistency across your brand ecosystem.
WHAT MAKES A KILLER SONIC IDENTITY?
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Sonic Logo: The Brand Hook
Imagine a sonic logo as the catchy hook of a hit song, but for your brand. It's that snappy, unforgettable riff that plays in your head long after the song is over, instantly transporting you back to a time and place. That is the power of a sonic logo to trigger that all important cognitive and emotional connection to a brand. It's a brief yet powerful expression of your brand’s soul that echoes across all brand touchpoints.
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Brand Music: The Soundtrack of Your Brand
A killer brand track is like the lead single of your brand’s album – it defines you, elevates you, and gets you recognized. Our tailored brand music doesn't just tell your brand story, it celebrates it whilst ensuring consistency across all channels. We specialize in remixing and reimagining brand soundtracks keeping your brand’s sound fresh and on-trend into the future.
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Voice Over: The Human Connection
The human voice – it's powerful, it’s personal, it’s your brand’s narrator. At Smith & Western, we scout for voices that break the mold, voices that aren’t just heard but felt. We delve deep into the art of voice selection and uncover unique, memorable voices that weave into the fabric of your brand's sonic tapestry, distinguishing you in a world where every sound makes an impact.
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In App Sounds
The power for sound to trigger a response can’t be overstated. We all know that feeling when we hear the ping of an incoming text message. It triggers the behaviour to pick up our phone and satisfy that craving to find out the contents of the message. As sonic branders we have the opportunity to create a change in our customers behaviour by clever harnessing of sound.
Partners
From sonic branding and sound design, to voice over recording and music composition, we partner with Smith & Western Studios for all our audio needs. Their studio is fantastic and the team always takes care of us, so we look forward to attending audio sessions with our clients.
Mike Tosetto Director Never Sit Still
Working with Smith & Western is fun, engaging and rewarding. They’re passionate experts in the field of sonic branding and have a knack for authentically capturing the vibe of a brand’s personality and attitude through music and sound … which is a tough gig!
Harley Augustine Executive Planning Partner TBWA\ Melbourne
The relationship we’ve developed working with S&W has been an extremely important one for us at The Star. Time and time again they’ve blown us away with their creativity, their collaborative approach and their ability to work to the tight deadlines we often throw at them. They’re true partners to our business, and a valued extension to our in-house agency.
Marnie Darren Managing Partner House Creative Agency, The Star