Report 2010

Report Audio Branding Congress 2010

“Driven by Sound” – the motto of the Audio Branding Congress held in Hamburg on November 5th, 2010 attracted international branding and sound experts to Hamburg and made the city a temporary hub for brand sound. The congress took place in a full house at the venue “Dialogue in the Dark” in Hamburg’s Speicherstadt.
 

Experts forecast a rosy future for the branch

A highlight was the presentation of the branch studies “Audio Branding Barometer 2010”: 92,3% of the respondents predicted a rise in demand for acoustic branding for the year 2011.

This year, agencies from 13 countries participated in the branch study “Audio Branding Barometer 2010” conducted by the Audio Branding Academy in September 2010. The purpose of the survey is to gather valid and comparable market data for the Audio Branding Branch. ABA plans to conduct these studies annually. More results of the survey can be reviewed here.

Insight to the world of branding and product sounds

The congress provided insights to strategic and acoustic designing of brands and products. International sound and brand experts as well as scientists and engineers presented their results.

What does Amsterdam sound like? the Dutch agency MassiveMusic wanted to know. They presented a perfect example for innovative city marketing with music and sound.

The case study CNN International by the agency Expansion Team from New York showed how the genre of news music can profit from audio branding.

Another case study DATEV eG by the agency GROVES Sound Communications from Hamburg showed that audio branding is not only limited to the B2C-sector and can be a profitable investment for the corporate identities of B2B-companies, too.

Jürgen Barthels from Siemens AG explained that sound branding has been an important marketing tool for their company since 2003. He continues to see its potential for the future.

The Audi AG showed how product sounds can serve as a starting point for an innovative brand sound concept.

The neuroscientist Prof. Dr. Charles Spence from Oxford University/UK, Ig Nobel Prize winner 2008 and Keynote-speaker made clear, just how much music and sound affects the consumer’s brain, be it the rustling of a package of crisps or the music in a restaurant.

Spence called for sound to be established as part of an overall multisensory concept for brands: “Visual branding will remain important, however, companies are also increasingly recognizing the potential of multisensory brand experience – brands that not only appeal to the eye, but also to the consumer’s sense of hearing, smelling, touching and tasting. If we succeed in optimally integrating all these different stimuli we can create sensual and impressing brand experience.”

Most of the congress participants met later on after the event at the unofficial Get Together in the Piano Bar of the Hotel Hafen Hamburg. To top the already very relaxed atmosphere, sponsor and sound branding pioneer, John Groves, entertained the guests with a gig on the piano and guests from Brazil spontaneously joined in.