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AUGUST 13, 2007
Fine-Tuning A Brand's Signature Sound Companies turn an ear toward improving the rings and pings in their products When Derrick M. Kuzak became Ford Motor Co.'s (F ) global chief for product development in 2005, he didn't like what he was hearing. It wasn't hostile car reviews that bothered Kuzak. It was the insipid gong chimes that greeted a potential buyer when the door of a Ford was opened as well as the rickety sound produced when it was shut. So the Ford Taurus hitting the showrooms now has a new latch system that will make a vault-like sound when the door closes. Next year's Ford Flex SUV will greet drivers with a symphonic door chime. "Customers are incredibly attuned to the sounds of quality, but we weren't, and I think it was costing us," says Kuzak. The innovations on the Taurus and Flex will be rolled out across the rest of Ford's lineup over the next three years. At a time when most companies are focused on attracting consumer eyeballs, a few are targeting their eardrums. Unique sounds, like smells, trigger emotions--and tend to be far more memorable than traditional marketing messages. That has carmakers, cell-phone companies, and others hiring sound engineers to make their brands sing. The first sonic brand signatures date back to the 1950s. NBC (GE ) has used its three-chime ID for decades. Intel's familiar sound logo gave an identity to a complex technology brand few consumers understood. And United Air Lines (UAUA ) has found that its longtime use of a snippet of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue translates into trust. Successful sound brands can take on a life of their own. McDonald's Corp.'s (MCD ) "I'm Lovin' It" sound bite has been adopted by consumers as a cell-phone ringtone and incorporated into a song by Taiwanese recording artist Leehom Wang. POWER MOVE A sign of the growing importance of sound in the auto industry is that J.D. Power & Associates (MHP ) (a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP ), parent of BusinessWeek (MHP )) last year began measuring "pleasantness of sound" for doors, signals, and engine acceleration in its Initial Quality Study. "The door closure and chime is the car's second impression after exterior design," says J.D. Power Executive Director Joe Ivers. Gadget makers are also believers in sound customization. A few years ago, Samsung Group unified the boot-up musical sequences of its various devices, from cell phones to DVD players. To sell high-end phones, the South Korean company has been looking at exclusive ringtones from star Korean composers. "The right sound can communicate exclusivity, like flashing a black American Express (AXP ) Card," says Paul Fulberg, a partner at London-based Sonicbrand Ltd.  By David Kiley Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | |
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