The Psychology of Sound in Branding and Behavior: A Conversation with Valentin Fleur - Part 1

Audio Branding

“I think, right now, I’ve noticed kind of two opposite trends. I don’t know if they’re opposite, but they’re very, very different. On one hand, I feel like my clients, my clients, they want to talk to their audiences for a longer period of time. They want to engage in a more conversational way. So, you know, they want to find the proper tone. We’re talking about a vocal identity. We’re talking about, they want to explain what they stand for. They want to detail their offers.” -- Valentin Fleur

This episode’s guest has fifteen years of experience when it comes to driving innovative brand marketing strategies and communication campaigns. Before joining Sixième Son he was a Group Account Director for Havas Paris and worked on such high-profile accounts as Mercedes-Benz and Parc Astérix. He partnered with Sixième Son for a retail brand before opening Sixième Son’s office in Canada and supervising their strategy efforts for both the North American and European markets. He manages brands all across the Americas, such as Royal Bank of Canada, Interac, Orient Express, and United HealthCare.

His name is Valentin Fleur, and with his extensive knowledge of audio branding, he’s the perfect person to talk to about the current state of audio advertising, where he feels the industry can innovate, and what might be coming in the future. So stay tuned!

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they'll be about, and it'll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests.

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(0:00:00) – The Power of Sound in Advertising

The episode starts with Val’s earliest memories of sound, from the sounds of nature in the Alps to Jimi Hendrix and the Cure on the radio, and how his creativity drew him both to advertising and exploring the power of sound in branding and behavior. “It’s funny how sound moves us in so many different ways,” he explains. “When I think about sound and when I explain what I’m doing, I tend to say that music is pure emotion and it can manage to connect you on so many different levels.”

(0:15:11) - Sonic Brand Evolution and Trends

We also talk about sound in advertising and how important it is to build on a core brand when it comes to sound branding. Val shares the insights he gained from his work on State Farm’s famous audio brand, and how he uses voice archetypes to guide his brand creation process. “It was this very interesting approach to sound,” he says, “and I knew from talking about the way sound affects us and gets to us, that sound was an important component to brand messaging and brand expression.”

(0:20:09) - Impact of Music on Shopping Behavior

The conversation turns to the connection between branding and behavior, and how differences in everything from geography to demographics can impact the audio strategy. “We created one logo for the passenger car,” he recalls one example from his work with Renault, “one for the pros that had more saturated guitar and felt like more robust... [and] on the electric vehicles, we had more digital sound added to the equation.” He also shares the story of a unique sound branding approach that he developed on behalf of Interac: an audio track that guided shoppers toward more frugal behavior.

(0:27:48) - Strategic Branding With Sonic Logos

As the first half of our discussion comes to a close, we talk about how Gen Z audiences who were born and raised with social media are reshaping the marketing landscape, and the importance of sonic logos on platforms where ads might only have a few seconds to make an impression. “I feel like people are,” he explains, “I wouldn’t say, fed up with advertising, but I feel like they want to choose their advertising, and when you choose to listen to a podcast, that’s when you decide to allow this messaging into your life. So I feel like that’s why our clients start to invest in podcasting way more.”

Episode Summary

• Val’s memories of sounds and the power of sound in branding and behavior
• Sonic branding’s latest industry trends, from State Farm and McDonald’s to Renault
• The power of sound in retail to guide shopping habits and influence spending
• How sonic logos are expanding the reach of marketing through short-form content

Tune into the next episode as we discuss the future of sonic branding, from virtual and augmented reality applications to AI content, along with strategies for synchronizing audio and visual brand elements, and the creative process behind building a client’s unique sonic logo.

Connect with the Guest

Website: https://www.valentinfleur.com/

Sixième Son: https://www.sixiemeson.com/

Connect with Valentine Fleur on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentin-fleur-6b1ab323/

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Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/