Companies sound off branding plan for distinct connect with consumers - Economic Times

Think about the new Tata DoCoMo commercials or the A R Rahman-composed tone for Bharti Airtel. You could well be humming one or the other. That’s the magic of sound—one of your most powerful memory senses, the sense that most brands in the crowding telecom market are betting on, to find a space in your busy brain.

The name of the game is sonic branding. “Sound is an integral part of brand building for telcos because they deal in the service of sound. For them, not using sound in building their brand would amount to missing an opportunity,” says Santosh Desai, MD and CEO of Future Brands, which manages the brands of the country’s retailer Future Group, and an advertising industry veteran.

Also, signature tune is vital to strike a chord when companies operate across geographies that speak different languages and deal with globe-trotting customers having reduced attentions spans. “India is a country of music lovers and good music helps connect with the audience,” says Shalini Sethi, head of communications at Aircel, a young telco that roped in music composers trio Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy to do its signature tune.

The concept is not new. We have been listening to “Vicks ki goli lo, kich kich...” and “Tandarusti ki raksha...” for ages now. In telecom space itself, Airtel made Rahman sit down and compose an exclusive tone eight years ago. Since then, it has become one of the most downloaded ringtones in the world.

“We have tried out different variations to the core tune ever since it came into being. For instance, Rahman did a version of the tune when we launched in Sri Lanka, using instruments that reflect the country’s culture,” says Shirish Joshi, chief marketing officer of Airtel. Reliance Communications, the second-largest telco, too uses a signature tune from Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, while Idea Cellular got its made by Tamil composer Ilaiyaraaja back in 2002.

They don’t come cheap. These companies have invested crores on their audio identifiers. While the companies refused to share any numbers, music industry insiders reckon that AR Rahman commands more than Rs 4 crore for a signature tune and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy charges up to Rs 75 lakh.

But the return on investment is not measurable. “Although good colours, pictures and sounds associated with brands do get them noticed, it’s a complicated science and the return on investment (ROI) is difficult to measure in absolute terms,” says Harminder Sahani, MD of Delhi-based management consultancy Wazir Advisors.

Yet, companies see sonic branding as a crucial aspect in their brand-building strategy. “Our signature tune has helped in creating a brand recognition for us. The ear is a sensory organ and a way for people to experience our brand, so branding through sound has been important for us,” says Prasad Narsimhan, CMO of Virgin Mobile.

It’s particularly important for international brands such as Vodafone and Docomo as audio identifiers help them overcome language barriers and create familiarity. DoCoMo’s jingle, for example, repeats the brand name several times. “The idea is to establish a distinct connect with the consumers through music and create strong consumer recall for DoCoMo,” says Lloyd Mathias, CMO of Tata Teleservices.

Well, in a high-tension wireless sector, it’s important to make the right noises, if not a song and dance.

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