Brand Sound Audit

Most brands have never listened to themselves. Not because they do not care, but because the sounds are spread across departments and nobody owns the whole set. The hold music was chosen by operations. The app notification came with the framework. The ad music was licensed by whoever booked the media.

An audit puts all of it on one page.

What we review

Every touchpoint where a customer can hear you. Advertising across the channels you actually buy. Product and interface sounds. Phone systems and hold music. Retail or venue playlists if you have physical space. Event and presentation audio. Voice, including anything automated.

For each one we note what is playing, where it came from, whether it is licensed, and whether it sounds like the same company as the others.

What you get

A written report covering what we found, which touchpoints contradict each other, and which ones carry risk. Then a short list of what to fix first, ordered by what it costs against what it changes.

Sometimes the recommendation is a full sonic identity system. Often it is smaller than that. Plenty of brands already have something usable and are simply not enforcing it, and we will tell you when that is the case rather than sell you a rebuild you do not need.

Two things audits reliably turn up

Touchpoints nobody assigned. The hold music is the usual example. It plays for longer, and to more committed prospects, than most advertising ever does. More on that in Why Your On Hold Music Is Costing You Deals.

Licensing that does not hold up. Tracks used past their term, stock music that was never exclusive, trending audio that was never cleared for commercial use. This is the quiet one, and it has been getting less quiet. See Your Sound Has No Paper Trail.

If you run multiple locations or franchises, drift is close to guaranteed. Franchise Music Consistency covers why.

Doing a rough version yourself

You can get a useful first pass in an afternoon without hiring anyone. We wrote the method down in How to Run a Brand Sound Audit in 5 Minutes. If what you find is worse than you expected, talk to us.