Eardrum and Song Zu partner to launch Resonance Sonic Branding

There’s a new audio branding agency in town, with Eardrum’s Ralph van Dijk, and Song Zu’s Ramesh Sathiah partnering to form Resonance Sonic Branding.

The duo’s respective companies will remain separate entities, but Resonance will aim to fill a void, offering brands “smarter, better and more creative sonic branding strategies”.

Van Dijk said sonic branding is so much more than just an audio logo or sound grab.

“It’s an opportunity to capture a brand’s personality using music, voice and sound design, and ensure it resonates at every touchpoint,” he said.

“Our ears are one of the most powerful access points to our mind, and we remember familiar voices and music all our life. So it makes sense for brands to be using this channel more strategically.”

Sathiah noted that with continuing growth in audio-on-demand, there is a corresponding growing need for “a thoughtful sonic strategy to improve a brand’s impact and attribution across all platforms”.

Van Dijk recently told Mumbrella’s podcast the moment he realised the project was necessary.

“I actually partly blame Mumbrella for this… or thank Mumbrella for this,” van Dijk said on the Mumbrellacast.

“We made a content series for the Mumbrellacast earlier this year called Audio Diaries… And I interviewed a number of Australia’s leading CMOs about the role of audio and without exception they all said audio was playing an increasing role in their brand moving forward.

“And so it’s really born out of need.”

Eardrum and Song Zu have collaborated on projects in the past, and have a “great mutual respect for each other”, van Dijk said of the partnership.

“We knew that by combining our strengths, we’d create a dream team of strategy and craft.”

Shannon Bell, the creative director at branding agency Re, has previously worked with the duo, and noted their ability to create and curate sound to capture the ‘feeling’ of a brand.

“Resonance applies the same level of craft to sonic expression, as we apply to visual and verbal identity,” Bell said. “Their work adds a critical dimension that helps make brands more knowable, interesting, and able to build a genuine connection with customers.”