--- title: "Sonic Branding: The Last Great Untapped Opportunity" description: Few marketers use sound in their marketing programs. And of those who do use sound, nearly all purchase stock music that is by definition not exclusive to them. image: https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/ST%20partner%20photo.jpg --- [Skip to main content](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/sonic-branding-the-last-great-untapped-opportunity#maincontent) [ «  View All Posts ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog) # Sonic Branding: The Last Great Untapped Opportunity June 8th, 2017 2 min read By [David Meerman Scott](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) ![ST partner photo.jpg](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ST%20partner%20photo.jpg?width=1627&height=1006&name=ST%20partner%20photo.jpg) ![ST square banner.png](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ST%20square%20banner.png?width=229&height=229&name=ST%20square%20banner.png)I co-founded [Signature Tones](https://www.signaturetones.com), a sonic branding studio, and I wanted you to be among the first to know about it. It’s crazy exciting to establish a business that combines my marketing geekdom with my massive passion for music. Sonic branding is a wide open and little understood aspect of marketing that has fascinated me for more than a decade. I started the company with my friend Juanito Pascual, a Santa Monica - based touring musician and recording artist. Juanito is an incredibly skilled musician and composer. He regularly performs around the world with his own band and has several successful CDs. While at college at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, it became clear to him that composition was a central part of his musical expression. Besides his corporate work with Signature Tones, Juanito composes for film and TV, capturing the essence of the scene, character, or plot in his music. He appeared in "Pink Panther 2" with Steve Martin, and most recently performed on the score of "Call Me Francesco" (Netflix) and on the Viceland program of "State of Undress." Music nerds must immediately check out Juanito's band doing [Scarlet Begonias from the Grateful Dead played in Flamenco Style](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xwZ23bawA4). ## Sonic Branding [Signature Tones: The Sound of your Brand](https://vimeo.com/211997571) from [David Meerman Scott](https://vimeo.com/dmscott) on [Vimeo](https://vimeo.com). Elements of sonic branding we create for clients include sonic logos of a few easily remembered musical notes as well as entire custom composed songs to capture the essence of an organization or product. While most marketers understand visual branding with logos and images as well as branding using the written word, very few understand that it is possible to create (and own the rights to) your own sounds that align perfectly with your brand attributes. Examples of well known sonic logos include the [Skype Ringtone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsUyjzRIU9w), [Apple startup chime](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9qOJqNjalE), [NBC logo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRMpeACi8tY), and Intel Inside [Leap Ahead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRLyMjvug1M). We create similar sounds for our clients such as this [Signature Tones sonic logo](https://vimeo.com/213667587). Few marketers use sound in their marketing programs. And of those who do use sound, nearly all purchase stock music that is by definition not exclusive to them. Commissioning a sonic logo is surprisingly affordable and can be accomplished on nearly any marketing budget. I see custom compositions as a wide-open opportunity to create a memorable organization or product offering because very few entrepreneurs and marketers are using customized sonic branding today. ## Own your own song for unique branding [“Building a Brilliant Tomorrow” by Signature Tones for Inovateus Solar](https://vimeo.com/219153899) from [David Meerman Scott](https://vimeo.com/dmscott) on [Vimeo](https://vimeo.com). Juanito and I also work with clients to create memorable music that companies own and use in many ways such as theme music for podcasts, background music in videos, in TV and radio commercials, at trade show booths, within software products, and as part of online learning programs. For example, we recently developed both a sonic logo and an original song titled *Building A Brilliant Tomorrow* for [Inovateus Solar](https://inovateus.com), a leading solar development and supply company that works on large-scale projects as well as supplies residential installers. For Inovateus Solar, we developed an awesome reggae-infused song that works great with the Inovateus brand. "Our original music is my new favorite song!," says T.J. Kanczuzewski, President, Inovateus Solar “It's really an awesome tune that anyone will dig and captures the spirit of the Inovateus Solar brand. The Signature Tones process has been great. David and Juanito have a cool thing going and we are glad to be a part of it." ## Signature Tones: The Sound of Your Brand Our work at [Signature Tones](https://www.signaturetones.com) starts with a deep understanding of your organizational goals, current marketing and branding efforts, and aspirations for the future. We take this knowledge to the studio to create a unique sonic logo and song especially for you. In our experience sonic branding is a cost effective way to assert personality into an organization. **Please [contact me](https://www.signaturetones.com/contact/) if you want to learn more about sonic branding for your organization.**   **[![New Call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/413105/ad9f52f7-e90d-4885-b5cd-a38a9fbc1f45.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/413105/ad9f52f7-e90d-4885-b5cd-a38a9fbc1f45)** [ David Meerman Scott ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) David Meerman Scott is a business growth strategist, advisor to clever entrepreneurs who are building emerging companies, and the international bestselling author of a dozen books published in 30 languages. David’s high-energy keynote presentations, masterclasses, and virtual events educate, energize, and inspire. Connect: [mailto:david@freshspot.com](mailto:david@freshspot.com) Topics: [ Case Studies ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/case-studies) [ Music ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/music) [ Marketing ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/marketing) [ Advertising ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/advertising) [ Best Practices ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/best-practices) [ Business to Business ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/business-to-business) Don't forget to share this post: ## Related Articles [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HubSpot%2020th.jpeg?width=800&height=448&name=HubSpot%2020th.jpeg) ### Congratulations Team HubSpot for 20 Years of Helping Organizations Grow June 12th, 2026|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/congratulations-team-hubspot-for-20-years-of-helping-organizations-grow) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Scott%20Pryor.jpg?width=1500&height=771&name=Scott%20Pryor.jpg) ### How Filmmaking and Fronting a Rock Band Make Scott Pryor a Better Lawyer May 27th, 2026|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/how-filmmaking-and-fronting-a-rock-band-make-scott-pryor-a-better-lawyer) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Jesse%20Cole%20newsjacking.jpg?width=1730&height=912&name=Jesse%20Cole%20newsjacking.jpg) ### Newsjacking: Jesse Cole Teases Spirit Airlines Becoming Banana Air May 8th, 2026|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/newsjacking-jesse-cole-teases-spirit-airlines-becoming-banana-air) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Artemis%20earthset.jpg?width=5568&height=3712&name=Artemis%20earthset.jpg) ### Nasa’s Artemis II Lunar Mission: A PR Triumph for the USA April 11th, 2026|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/nasas-artemis-ii-lunar-mission-a-pr-triumph-for-the-usa) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Moltbook.jpg?width=1536&height=1024&name=Moltbook.jpg) ### Moltbook: A Social Network for AI Agents Where Humans Can Only Watch February 3rd, 2026|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/moltbook-a-social-network-for-ai-agents-where-humans-can-only-watch) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DMS%20casual.jpg?width=3000&height=2001&name=DMS%20casual.jpg) ### My New Website, New Focus, and New Photos January 20th, 2026|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/my-new-website-new-focus-and-new-photos) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Bobby%20Weir.jpg?width=1500&height=765&name=Bobby%20Weir.jpg) ### Bobby Weir and the Music that Will Never Stop January 11th, 2026|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/bobby-weir-and-the-music-that-will-never-stop) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stray%20Kids.png?width=3434&height=1774&name=Stray%20Kids.png) ### What K-pop Teaches About Fandom January 6th, 2026|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/what-k-pop-teaches-about-fandom) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Jerry%20MLGD.jpg?width=1477&height=1041&name=Jerry%20MLGD.jpg) ### Why You Should Avoid Hiring Well-Rounded Employees December 8th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/why-you-should-avoid-hiring-well-rounded-employees) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Thumb_V2.png?width=1366&height=768&name=Thumb_V2.png) ### AI Book Trailer for Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead November 25th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/ai-book-trailer-for-marketing-lessons-from-the-grateful-dead) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Agentic%20AI%20spam.jpg?width=1004&height=669&name=Agentic%20AI%20spam.jpg) ### Hyper-Personalized Agentic AI Sp*m Email at Scale Is Here November 4th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/hyper-personalized-agentic-ai-spam-email-at-scale-is-here) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202025-10-29%20at%2010.27.19%20AM.png?width=835&height=466&name=Screenshot%202025-10-29%20at%2010.27.19%20AM.png) ### Don’t Fly Wizzness Class Video from Dave Carroll October 29th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/dont-fly-wizzness-class-video-from-dave-carroll) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Chef%20Todd%20Edwards.jpg?width=1500&height=1010&name=Chef%20Todd%20Edwards.jpg) ### Pulling Back the Curtain to Show What Happens Behind-the-Scenes October 15th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/pulling-back-the-curtain-to-show-what-happens-behind-the-scenes) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Cracker%20Barrel.jpg?width=990&height=541&name=Cracker%20Barrel.jpg) ### Once You Put Your Product or Service into the World, it Belongs to your Fans August 28th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/once-you-put-your-product-or-service-into-the-world-it-belongs-to-your-fans) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Flax%20Dental.jpg?width=1540&height=1058&name=Flax%20Dental.jpg) ### The Simple Professional Services Website Makeover That Creates Fans August 11th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-professional-services-website-makeover-that-creates-fans) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/write%20compelling%20headlines.jpg?width=2248&height=1506&name=write%20compelling%20headlines.jpg) ### The Fine Art of Crafting a Not-Quite-Clickbait Headline August 1st, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-fine-art-of-crafting-a-not-quite-clickbait-headline) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Creating%20a%20Personal%20Website%20for%20Success.jpg?width=1536&height=1024&name=Creating%20a%20Personal%20Website%20for%20Success.jpg) ### Your Future: AI Models Will Find You Via Your Personal Website July 18th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/your-future-ai-models-will-find-you-via-your-personal-website) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Stefano%20Paciotti.jpg?width=1500&height=1084&name=Stefano%20Paciotti.jpg) ### The Ham Whisperer of Rome: How Stefano’s Honest Videos Won the World’s Heart June 24th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-ham-whisperer-of-rome-how-stefanos-honest-videos-won-the-worlds-heart) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Agentic%20AI%20Web.png?width=1536&height=1024&name=Agentic%20AI%20Web.png) ### The AI Agentic Web Is Disrupting Your Website June 4th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-ai-agentic-web-is-disrupting-your-website) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HBO%20Max.png?width=720&height=480&name=HBO%20Max.png) ### Max, Once Named HBO Max, Rebranded as… HBO Max May 23rd, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/max-once-named-hbo-max-rebranded-as-hbo-max) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/starlight_jacket.jpg?width=960&height=740&name=starlight_jacket.jpg) ### Gamify Products and Services to Create Fans and Grow Business May 13th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/gamify-product-and-services-to-create-fans-and-grow-business) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Trader%20Joes%20mini%20tote.jpg?width=1500&height=1125&name=Trader%20Joes%20mini%20tote.jpg) ### Trader Joe’s Mini Tote Bag Drop Drives Passionate Fandom April 16th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/trader-joes-mini-tote-bag-drop-drives-passionate-fandom) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/brand_bier_adcn2015_support_04.png?width=1200&height=630&name=brand_bier_adcn2015_support_04.png) ### The Branding of Brand Brand Beer March 12th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-branding-of-brand-brand-beer) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Carnation%20Ice%20Cream%20sign.jpg?width=1440&height=1080&name=Carnation%20Ice%20Cream%20sign.jpg) ### Your Organization’s History As Content Marketing February 10th, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/your-organizations-history-as-content-marketing) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott" }, "dateModified" : "2026-01-13T18:09:59.963Z", "datePublished" : "2017-06-08T16:39:47.000Z", "headline" : "Sonic Branding: The Last Great Untapped Opportunity", "image" : [ "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/ST%20partner%20photo.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/sonic-branding-the-last-great-untapped-opportunity", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/_Assets/Logo/david-meerman-scott.png" }, "name" : "David Meerman Scott" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#person", "@type" : "Person", "description" : "Marketing and sales visionary, international bestselling author of 12 books, keynote speaker in 47 countries, and advisor to emerging companies.", "email" : "mailto:David@DavidMeermanScott.com", "image" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/DMS-Homepage-Featured.jpg", "jobTitle" : [ "Keynote Speaker", "Author", "Business Growth Strategist", "Marketing Advisor" ], "knowsAbout" : [ "Content Marketing", "Fandom Marketing", "Newsjacking", "Real-Time Marketing", "Public Relations", "Sales Strategy", "Business Growth" ], "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "sameAs" : [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Meerman_Scott", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmeermanscott", "https://x.com/dmscott", "https://www.instagram.com/dmscott/" ], "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#website", "@type" : "WebSite", "author" : { "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#person" }, "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "potentialAction" : { "@type" : "SearchAction", "query-input" : "required name=search_term_string", "target" : { "@type" : "EntryPoint", "urlTemplate" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/search?q={search_term_string}" } }, "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott" }, "dateCreated" : "2017-06-08T14:24:52", "datePublished" : "2017-06-08T12:39:47-0400", "description" : "Few marketers use sound in their marketing programs. And of those who do use sound, nearly all purchase stock music that is by definition not exclusive to them.", "headline" : "Sonic Branding: The Last Great Untapped Opportunity", "image" : [ "https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/413105/ST%20partner%20photo.jpg" ], "inLanguage" : "en-us", "keywords" : [ "Case Studies", "Music", "Marketing", "Advertising", "Best Practices", "Business to Business" ], "learningResourceType" : "article", "name" : "Sonic Branding: The Last Great Untapped Opportunity", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://413105.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/413105/_Assets/Logo/david-meerman-scott.png" }, "name" : "Freshspot Marketing LLC" }, "timeRequired" : "2 minutes", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/sonic-branding-the-last-great-untapped-opportunity" } ```