Setting the tone: making the right auditory impression involves selecting a spoken voice and music that is closely aligned to the bank's brand promise and positioning statement.

• Author: Stephens, Jeff
• Position: Multisensory Marketing

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I've never heard your cell phone ring tone, but I'll bet it says quite a bit about you as a person.

Whether you know it or not, you're making a statement every time your phone rings. Having AC/DC's "Back in Black" actually is an extension of your personality and sends a completely different message than having T-Mobile's standard "T-Jingle," Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" or a cat meow.

Your bank's brand is the same. Whether you know it or not, you're making a statement every time your brand makes a sound.

The sounds you associate with your bank's brand, like your personal brand, allow you to uniquely and deliberately show--not just tell--everyone what your bank brand stands for in a way that your competitors could never dream of, even if they tried. And to do so in a way that is much more engaging and memorable than a simple one-column, black-and-white ad in the local newspaper.

Just as you program your cell phone, you can program your bank to communicate with all of its audiences on an audible level--a level that can't easily be turned off:

With sound, you can create a brand calling card. And the best part? Like many multisensory branding tactics, it doesn't have to cost much.

In fact, it may mean paying closer attention to the specific tunes in your branch playlist. Or making your cash drawer emit a "cha-ching" with every transaction, proving your brand is the old-fashioned, downhome bank it claims to be.

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The sound of music

There's no doubt music is a powerful tool--when done well--to build brand recognition and loyalty through memorable customer experiences, and with relevance to your brand. As pointed out in the last statement, "over-the-counter music" may or may not be the best option for your bank's sound branding program. However, if you do try this approach, you have to take care in considering what the music is actually saying about your brand.

After all, if two banks have access to the same music playlist and both claim to be the local community bank, what's to prevent them from sounding alike? Not much, until you recognize that sound branding goes beyond music programming.

Take grocery stores for example. The next time you're shopping at Safeway, try to recall what kind of music it plays. Now compare that to Albertson's, Kroger or another grocer in your town. Are they different or the same? Chances are, they're roughly 99 percent the same. You'll find that both grocers use sound...