20 Play a tune

20

PLAY A TUNE

It takes fi ve musical notes in a row to make a distinctive tune. Played on a particular instrument, or a combination of them, or in a musical style, or sung by a recognisable voice, you’ve got your own short piece of branding in sound.

The idea Intel makes computer chips. Their name comes from the the company name Integrated Electronics Corporation. Not only it’s a name that can be easily related to the company’s full name, it also happens to be an abbreviation of intelligence. With its Pentium processor in the 1990s, its advertising included a quick, four note tune with a visual showing the words “Intel Inside”, often added at the end of a PC manufacturer’s television commercial as an extra selling point.

Intel operates in a huge, competitive market, and their aggressively competitive methods have been brought into question. They faced several expensive legal challenges from their competitors in the 2000s.

However, those of us who don’t operate in the technology industry would be hard pushed to name one of their competitors; but if someone were to sing you the Intel tune, you’d probably be able to identify them and what they do.

In practice • If you use radio, TV or sound on your Internet presence, consider adding a tune that encapuslates the mood of your brand. • Have it composed by a professional jingle writer, who will know how to make it suffi ciently distinctive to avoid any copyright infringement. • Test it to check that it’s catchy without being irritating.