What is sonic branding? Sixième Son explains its unique take on making brands stand out

Meet Sixième Son, a pioneer in the world of sonic branding. The French company has created sonic identities, audio logos and built sound design solutions for over 450 brands since 1995.

With the proliferation of media, it’s no longer enough to rely on TV and radio jingles. Sixième Son helps its clients stand out by producing tailor-made audio identities designed to build long-lasting brand strength.

Laurent Cochini, global managing director, and artistic director, Alice Lépine explain the concept of sonic branding and the way the company creates soundscapes that enable brands to truly stand out.

For anyone unaware of the concept, can you explain what sonic branding is?

LC: Sonic branding is a musical expression of the brand. At the end of the day, our job is to define, design and compose the entire sound ecosystem of a brand. That could include music, but also vocals, voiceovers – anything related to sound when it comes to the expression of the identity of the brand.

What inspired the creation of Sixième Son, and what sets it apart from other sonic branding companies?

LC: My business partner, Michael Boumendil founded the company around 30 years ago. He was the first on the planet to have this concept – Sixième Son is the first sonic branding agency. The idea was really new and very simple: there are some agencies related to design for architecture, for visuals, for fragrances, for brands, but there was no design agency related to sound and music. Michael decided to create the first one with the perfect balance between brand experts and musical experts.

Where did the company name come from?

LC: Sixième Son is French, obviously, because it was founded in Paris in 1995. In English it means sixth sound. We decided to keep the name now that we are the global leader of this industry – it was a big question, but we want to keep the name. We like this flavour. Also, it's our heritage and it's the sixth sense: sound.

How do you approach the process of developing a sonic brand for a client?

AL: At the beginning, we take the brief from the clients to get their brand values, then we do a mood board session. The goal is to make a selection of different pieces of music to present to the clients and to better understand what they want in terms of ingredients, rhythm, and not in a subjective way – just literally like a painter – you should have a palette of colours. It's a collaborative work with the clients.

LC: Most of the time, it's the first time that the brand has done that kind of branding, so they need our expertise and experience, but it's a cooperative approach. The team designs the suits, but at the end of the day, it's the brand that's going to wear the suit, so it's very important for them to be involved. We are not here to say this is the music you have to have. We are here to co-create and design together.

How is sonic branding different from radio jingles?

AL: Sonic branding must help to define the brands, the brand values and their message and what they want to convey to the audience. So the goal is not the same. Sonic branding has to improve the recognition and have the brands stand out from the competitors. That's not the goal of the radio jingle, so that's the big difference.

When people think of branding they will likely immediately think of visual marketing. Why is sonic branding just as powerful a tool for communication and brand differentiation?

AL: We are in a generation full of images and screens. There’s lots of information everywhere; you're scrolling Instagram and you look at the TV at the same time – the images are really present all around us, so sound can be the difference. You have so many things to look at, so sound is very important today. We are trying to pioneer sonic branding; there's still a lot to do and a lot of brands to convince.

One of your experts said that sonic branding is not about having a sonic logo that is likeable. Why is it not about being likeable in terms of sonic branding?

AL: Our job is not to make likeable music. It's really difficult because we have to be sexy too – meaning we have to convince – and to have something that the clients like, because there's always this subjective part. But we are not here to make likeable music. We call that, poil à gratter in French – itching powder! You have to create something weird, so it could be a specific sound, a surprising song – something you're not expecting to make the brands stand out.

You partnered with Genelec to create a sonic identity for the brand. The result is a unique, pure and innovative piece with strong finnish roots, and it was awarded the gold medal of the Stratégies Design Awards in the Sonic Identity Category. What makes this sonic identity true to the brand and how did it align with Genelec’s needs?

AL: Genelec was a very interesting project because the brief was not what we were expecting, as they are a very technical brand with many digital innovations. In fact, they wanted to convey this feeling of heritage, which is really important for them. We decided to combine expertise, the premiumness, and all of these values in a natural sound because of the purity of the sound. We were inspired a lot by nature and sustainability. 

We did a very natural, orchestral, pure sound in a contemporary way. So, it's fitting. We wanted to create something very unique, which combines expertise and the precision of the sound in an experimental way and we decided to avoid all digital sounds.

You recently upgraded your studio facilities to a 5.1 setup based around Genelec Smart Active Monitors. Why did you opt for Genelec monitors and how did they help with the company’s workflow?

It's the best speaker on the market and we're using it in our big studio. The sound is very accurate and we are using them every day. It's an incredible sound and very authentic.