How does your brand
really sound?
A sonic audit answers that question with data instead of taste: sound analysis of your brand and competitors, audio guidelines for consistent use, and research and measurement with a clear KPI framework. Based in Frankfurt, working for brands across Europe and worldwide.
Request a Sonic Audit →What is a sonic audit?
A sonic audit (also called an audio audit) is the systematic analysis of how a brand sounds. It answers three questions: Which audio assets does your brand own and how consistently are they used? How do your category and your competitors sound? And where can your brand become audibly distinct?
Within the sonic branding process, the audit is phase one: brand audit and briefing before a single note is composed. As a standalone service it provides the decision basis for rebrands, pitches and budget conversations, including audio guidelines and a measurement design for the time after launch.
The three fields of work:
- Category sonic audit, the sound analysis of your brand and your category: We capture the category codes, map your competitors and show where everyone sounds alike and where your brand can claim its own acoustic space.
- Audio guidelines, the governance documents for your brand sound: usage rules, technical specs, do and don’t examples and an asset library, so your team and external agencies work consistently.
- Research and measurement, the effectiveness measurement for your audio branding: KPI framework, pre-tests before launch, post-tests afterwards. The measurement design comes from us, and we run large panels together with specialized research partners.
Published research shows why measuring pays off: Ipsos measures audio branding 8.5 times more effective than purely visual campaigns, Veritonic counts 77 percent of consumers recalling a brand more easily when a specific sound belongs to it, and System1 and TikTok measured 191 percent higher brand awareness in the first two seconds. These figures come from market studies. Your own numbers are collected per project, with a baseline and follow-up waves. Our guide on measuring sonic branding ROI explains the setup in detail.
Two free tools for a quick start.
Before you commission an agency audit, you can check the state of your audio identity yourself. Our tool portal audiobrand.ing offers two free self-tests for exactly that.
The 15-Minute Sonic Audit
The guided self-test for your brand sound: You walk through your brand's audio touchpoints in a structured way and see where you stand. Free, no prior knowledge needed.
audiobrand.ing/audit →
The Sonic Brand Score
The interactive short test that gives your acoustic brand presence a score. A useful first reference point before we go deep in the agency audit.
audiobrand.ing/score →
Sonic Audit Services
at a Glance.
Category Sonic Audit
Sound analysis of your category: We decode the category codes, map your competitors and document which acoustic territories are taken and which remain open.
Sonic Brand Score & Inventory
A full inventory of your audio touchpoints, from sound logo and telephony to social media. The sonic brand score makes consistency and distinctiveness comparable over time.
Audio Guidelines & Governance
The rulebook for using every acoustic element consistently: usage rules, technical specs, do and don’t examples, an asset library and clear responsibilities.
Research, Measurement & KPI Framework
We define the KPIs for your brand sound, from attribution accuracy to brand recall, and build the measurement design with baseline, holdout group and wave logic.
Pre-Tests Before Launch
Before a sound logo goes live, we test the candidates against your brand values and target group. We run panels together with specialized research partners.
Monitoring After Launch
After launch we track attribution accuracy, brand lift and consistency across touchpoints and deliver the numbers for your next budget conversation.
How a Sonic Audit Project Works.
1. Kickoff & Inventory
We collect all acoustic assets and touchpoints of your brand: sound logo, campaign music, UI sounds, telephony, social media, events. Together we define the category, the competitive set and the questions the audit should answer.
2. Sound Analysis & Competitive Mapping
We analyze your assets for consistency and distinctiveness and listen systematically into your category. The competitive mapping shows which sound codes are taken and where differentiation is possible.
3. Report, Score & Recommendations
You receive a documented report with a sonic brand score, prioritized fields of action and a clear recommendation on what to do first. Written to be understood by the board, marketing and external agencies alike.
4. Guidelines & Measurement Plan
On this basis we write your audio guidelines and define the measurement plan: baseline before launch, pre-tests of the candidates, follow-up waves afterwards. Your brand sound becomes manageable.
Projects That Started
with Analysis.
Strategy before sound: Before the first note, we ran a comprehensive brand audit, analyzing the new brand strategy and the competitive field of Europe's major asset managers.
Read the case study →Phase one was the acoustic analysis of the GT3: characteristic frequency curves down to the last detail, before the sound design for the soundbar was built on top.
Read the case study →The project started with an analysis of the booth concept, the audience and the space. Sound zones, music and sound design for the trade fair grew from that groundwork.
Read the case study →Frequently Asked Questions
about Sonic Audits.
A sonic audit is the systematic analysis of how a brand sounds. We map every audio asset and touchpoint, assess consistency and distinctiveness, and compare your sound with the codes of your category and competitors. The result is a documented report with prioritized recommendations, the foundation for every well-founded sonic branding decision.
Four steps: an inventory of all audio touchpoints, sound analysis with competitive mapping, a documented report with a sonic brand score and recommendations, then optional audio guidelines and a measurement plan. Duration depends on the number of touchpoints and markets, a focused category sonic audit usually stays within a few weeks. For a first assessment, try our free self-test on audiobrand.ing.
Five KPIs have proven reliable: attribution accuracy of the audio asset to the brand, aided and unaided brand recall, emotional brand association, dwell time and completion rate, and ad effectiveness studies. A baseline measurement before launch and a second wave with enough distance between them are essential. We run large panels together with specialized research partners.
Audio guidelines are the rulebook for using every acoustic element consistently: usage rules per touchpoint, technical specifications, do and don’t examples, and an asset library. They allow your team and external agencies to work with your sonic identity without errors.
Yes, especially small brands. They rarely own many audio assets, yet they have many touchpoints, from social media and telephony to video content. A compact audit shows where sound already works for you, where inconsistency wastes budget, and which few building blocks deliver the biggest effect. Documenting early saves expensive corrections later.
Discover More Audio Services.
Ready for clarity about
your brand sound?
Tell us about your brand, without obligation and free of charge. We reply within 24 hours with a first assessment.
