Over the holidays, as many people did, I indulged in a little movie binge-watching on Netflix. It was then that I realized Netflix has audio branding … a sound – Da-Dum – that plays when the application opens. Just like Microsoft and perhaps the most famous audio brand of all, Harley.

One thing I have learned in marketing research is that farmers perceive with all their senses, even if they don’t think that they do. They want a tractor cab to be quiet, but not so quiet that they can’t hear funny engine noises. They want an audio alarm, because when they are looking at so many things, their attention might not be on the monitor at just the right time.

Electric vehicles are great, but they make no noise. It’s a problem in factories when people don’t hear an electric forklift coming so that they can get out of the way. Audio cues are everywhere, so much so, that we don’t even realize how much we rely on audio branding.

Listen to your brand. What is your audio signature? What does it say to your customers and prospects? What do you want it to say?

How can you create connection through sound?