The world of business is constantly evolving, with companies striving to differentiate themselves from their competitors through adopting innovative strategies. Brand development is a crucial aspect of this effort, as it involves creating and distinguishing a company’s image, products and services from competitors. Development also includes aligning the brand with business objectives, communicating it to target markets and updating or strengthening it as necessary.
Some companies have achieved great success in brand development, like McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, whose brands are instantly recognisable. AD Ports Group, a major logistics, industry and trade facilitator, has joined this elite tier by introducing a new sound to its brand identity.
Over the last decade, AD Ports Group has played a significant role in driving the UAE’s economic growth and diversification, with its reputation for excellence well-established. As a bridge that links Abu Dhabi to the world, the company recognises that in order to expand its brand and cement its position as a leading player in the market, it must constantly adapt and evolve, taking a bold step towards the future.
Khalifa Al Marar, VP-Marketing and Communications, said: “It’s crucial for a sonic brand to reinforce the company’s presence and resonate seamlessly around the world. That is why we are excited to have launched our new sound, which is set to become a strategically valuable asset playing across our global marketing campaigns”.
AD Ports Group recognises the importance of this sensory language. Sonic branding is not a new concept; it has been around for some time, but increasingly, more brands than ever before are developing their own audio palettes for consistency in messaging.
In today’s crowded marketplace, where brands are vying for your attention, a sonic logo can help make a brand stand out from the crowd and enhance its personality. Sonic branding is all about using sound strategically to create a unique and recognisable identity for a brand.
With the rise of sonic branding, companies can enhance their brand identity, making a more personal and memorable connection with their customers that can translate into increased customer loyalty, repeat business, and even word-of-mouth recommendations.
“As a company that values excellence and progress, we believe that our enhanced brand will help us differentiate ourselves in the market and anticipate this sound will provide a competitive edge,” added Al Marar.
AD Ports Group’s audio brand is simple, memorable and made up of five notes that represent the five business arms or clusters of AD Ports Group; Digital, Economic Cities and Free Zones, Logistics, Maritime and Ports. Each note represents the unique identity of each cluster, while the melody evokes and ends with a high note. The instrumentation aims to show positivity and progression, while also being rooted in a base note to reflect heritage and trustworthiness.
The Group chose to work with a UAE-based studio to create their custom sound. The process for creating the sound included collaboration with musicians to ensure the sonic logo represented all that encapsulates AD Ports Group – from its solid heritage, to innovation and forward momentum. The challenge was to create sounds that would serve as the identity of AD Ports Group and its five clusters from an audio perspective. The studio started with a simple base and introduced ocean sounds to reflect the AD Ports Group’s core industry.
The first two notes of the sonic logo are more solid, in a representation of the rich-heritage and deep-rooted trust stakeholders have in the AD Ports Group brand. The subsequent three notes are introduced in a slightly faster pace, to evoke the feeling of forward momentum, with the overlaid percussion giving a sense of motion and suggesting how the Group is leading and pushing forward into the future.
‘‘Music can be transformative, it can take you to a different place and give you a different feeling; that’s why it’s so powerful”
Wilbur D’Costa, Executive Producer, Mango Jam Studio, said: “Music can be transformative, it can take you to a different place and give you a different feeling; that’s why it’s so powerful in branding. You can use music to make people associate a sentiment or memory with a brand. [When creating the sound] for us, it was important that the new sonic experience not only felt fresh and exciting, but that we figured out how to embody the five pillars of AD Ports Group from an audio perspective. We feel the sound has all these things that make a sonic not just good, but really good”.
The audio brand will be omnipresent in AD Ports Group’s marketing and communications, and an adaptable, personalised composition can be played during specific times of the year, such as National Day or other international celebrations. The audio brand can be further tailored to fit locally popular styles and genres of music, creating a personal touch that will retain the sound’s worldwide recognition and universal appeal.
