I was delighted to be the composer of Colgates new sonic brand, in conjunction with my friends at Massive Music. Together, we were set with the simple but challenging task of embodying the sound of “optimism in action” via a brand theme and suite of sonic assets. Everything had to integrate seamlessly with Colgate’s existing iconic red and white visual aesthetic while remaining adaptable yet recognisably, well, Colgate!
Do you know that we use 17 muscles when we smile?
Colgate, the iconic oral care brand loved by many and one of the most recognisable brands in the world, saw an opportunity to own the ‘white space’ in FMCG (pun very intended). How? By using the power of music and sound to stand out.
While reshaping their brand identity, they got in touch with MassiveMusic London to develop a memorable and modern sonic brand that could:
➡ live across its +200 markets
➡ have global appeal and relevance
➡ offer new opportunities to distinguish from the sector
➡ be recalled by consumers
The main challenges? Ensuring flexibility as well as a smooth implementation across all touchpoints and product offerings, and embodying Colgate’s brand promise of ‘optimism in action’ through music.
The science behind a universal sound of optimism
Our London office turned to science to take all subjectivity out of the equation. Since Colgate is a brand used by millions, we wanted its sonic brand to be culturally and regionally agnostic, something understandable in any country.
By speaking to some of the world’s leading experts on the subject, we found out that certain types of humming are universally accepted as a human expression of wellbeing.
Like ethnomusicologist Joseph Jordania says, “there is overwhelming evidence that humming among contemporary humans is the expression of enjoyment”.
Bingo! That’s when we realised that the human hum was perfect for Colgate’s sonic logo.
We picked the key of D Major, as this is widely accepted as optimistic in nature, and made sure we had a blend of both female and male tones, before recording the 2-second sonic logo in such a way as to sound very real, close and natural.
To create an activating feeling without being overbearing, it was also important for it to be perfectly synced to the smile visual animation.
A suite of sonic assets and compositions
We obviously didn’t stop there, as it would have been similar to putting the toothpaste on your toothbrush without actually brushing your teeth.
Considering Colgate’s rich history of over two hundred years (didn’t we all grow up with it?), we developed a suite of sonic assets and compositions to be heard on all brand communications worldwide for more than 200 markets.
Can you imagine how many teeth that is?
For an overarching approach to the Colgate brand sound, our research pointed us in the direction of musical ingredients such as strong beats, thrills, bright sounds and surprising moments. We also made sure the core sonic DNA was adaptive and flexible enough, to be able to work in many different styles and music genres, but always unmistakably Colgate.
Roscoe Williamson, Creative Strategy Director at MassiveMusic London, says: “We needed to create a sonic architecture that could tie Colgate’s diverse marketing content and geographical reach together with a sound that could be universally understood as both optimistic and unmistakably Colgate. Working with a team of academics and psychologists, we were able to really decode the ingredients of optimistic music. The result is showing to be highly recallable and adaptable.”
“The process, collaboration and outcome was fascinating and really enjoyable,” adds Jared Richardson, Global Head of Design at Colgate. “The MassiveMusic team has an innate ability to synthesise complex and emotional feedback and produce something that is rooted in strategy and science, and yet still intrinsically linked to the brand. They hit the perfect note with this project that is now hugely strategically valuable across our global marketing campaigns and we look forward to continuing developing this side of our brand.”
The result? A universal sound of optimism that will make you tilt your head back and laugh at the sky. You better brace yourself 🦷