The Effect Of Sound On Human Condition

This week at A.I.Labs we invited Daniel Schougarrd – musicologist and founder of sound agency Unmute– to talk about his passion: sound branding. 

Sound branding (also known as audio branding, sonic branding, acoustic branding, acoustic brand management, acoustic brand management, audio marketing, sound marketing or acoustic brand communication) is the strategic and conscious use of sound and music across all brand touch-points to create more engaging, meaningful, and affective communication

Daniel empowered our students to design their own life and business soundscapes as a way of curating their mood and the mood of those around them . He walked our community through the ways we can leverage the power of sound to express ourselves and increase our wellbeing. In business, this translates into lasting relationships and ultimately, more sales.

Watch the event´s highlights here:

Below, a few Ahas! of our conversation:

As with all aspects of Aesthetic Intelligence, a sonic brand identity starts with a developed sense of your own taste. Only then will you be able to connect with the customer effectively through sound.
Customers take 2.05 seconds to remember a brand when triggered by a visual element. This goes down to 0.05 seconds when the trigger comes in the form of audio
Silence is as necessary as sound. A note without a pause is just noise without melody.
Digital soundscapes are as essential as offline ones. They can be used to highlights key moments (i.e pairing a device to another), to guide the user through the journey and to brings more energy to the experience (i.e adding a stronger sound as the key numbers go up).
Other audio touch-points for consumers include:  branded audio content (often podcasts), company videos (played promotionally or internally), experiential audio ( in a store, waiting room or at an event), a branded skill for voice-activated devices, ..