How Sound Design Influences Marketing & Branding: A Conversation with Karsten Kjems – Part 1
“If you can see that your product is selling better with better sounds, and it gets better reviews Actually, I saw a car review that scored the car better just because the sounds were better. He didn’t talk about how fast it could go, how fast it could brake or how many airbags, he talked about the user experience. A car today is a driving iPad on wheels. So, all these sounds here, I got so stressed from these beeps and boops, suddenly it was too close to the edge, or too close to that… sometimes there wasn’t even a thing, and it just starts to, what was that? Was a fly running through the camera? What was it? So, I think it’s so important that we also choose brands and products with our ears as well with our eyes, and also with our wallets.” – Karsten Kjems
This episode’s guest in “How Sound Design Influences Marketing & Branding” was raised in a musical home with a studio in the basement. He began drumming professionally at 23, and his passion for sound design and early use of digital audio tools like ProTracker on the Amiga shaped his approach to music and technology. While working at a branding agency, he noticed companies struggling to define their sonic identity, leading him to launch one of the first strategic audio branding agencies, Sonic Minds, in 2004. Today, he’s a recognized expert in the field, frequently speaking and teaching about sound design.
His name is Karsten Kjems, and you’ll want to hear more about his perspective on brand sounds, why he believes audio branding to be so important, and what sets good and bad sound apart. If you’re still on the fence about audio branding for your own company, or if you’re struggling to explain why it’s important to your clients, you should definitely check out this conversation.
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(0:00:00) – The Power of Sound in Branding
As we start things off, Karsten shares his early memories of sound, and how growing up with ADHD in a musical family shaped his formative years. “I was brought up in a family where my father was a drummer,” Karsten recalls, “so I’ve always been around musicians and music and the first time I really discovered that I had this almost perfect pitch was when I went to music school.” He explains how a surprising discovery at a concert led to his career in marketing and audio branding, and the seismic shift that the streaming era – and particularly the rise of YouTube – represented for the industry. “Suddenly brands and companies need to communicate in these spheres,” he tells us. “How did they do that? How did they choose music? How should they buy music? So it’s a whole new game, from only being on TV and radio to being on all the time, to keep… producing content all the time.”
(0:12:18) – Designing Meaningful Audio Branding Experiences
Our conversation turns to UX and branding through sound design, and Karsten points out how ubiquitous sound interfaces have become these days. “A headset, a modern headset, for whatever company, it can have up to around 15 different sounds,” he notes. “You know, power on, power off, battery low, volume max, next song, anti-noise cancellation, Bluetooth connection.” He recalls an experience with an electronic tea kettle with an audio design more suited for fire alarms, and he talks about the difference in brand recognition and quality that audio branding can represent. “If I wear a pair of headsets every day which I turn on,” he says, “or drive a car that I use daily, or use my coffee machine or whatever, these interaction sounds, these user interaction sounds, are becoming the most heard sounds from the brand. And if they sound cheap, it’s probably a cheap brand.”
(0:22:26) – The Importance of Sound in UX
We come back to the topic of good and bad sound design, and how good UX design operates on an information spectrum. “Is it important or is it just ‘need a new battery’ sound? The scale of importance, is it an about-to-die sound or is it ‘please look to me in the next couple of days because you might want to change the battery’ sound?” We talk about how hospitals and medical device sound designs reflect some of the problems and solutions to creating an effective audio interface, and how important it is for companies whose products, whether they realize it or not, are driven by sound. “I’m in this UX sound bubble or marketing bubble with sound,” Karsten adds. “But I do feel that it is getting more attention… you can see that your product is selling better with better sounds, and it gets better reviews.”
Episode Summary
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Karsten’s journey from professional musician to audio-branding pioneer.
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The relationship between sound and brand image, and what makes a brand “innovative.”
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Striking the right balance between useful and intrusive audio UX design.
Be sure to tune in for next week’s episode as Karsten and I discuss his award-winning work on a campaign featuring the sounds of Berlin, what audio UX can learn from the old days of Lycos and Geocities sites, and why louder isn’t better when it comes to ear-catching sound design.
Connect with the Guest
Website: https://sonicmindsagency.com/
For More Audio Branding Resources: https://sonicmindsagency.com/resources/
Follow Karsten Kjems on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karstenkjems/
Subscribe to Karsten Kjems on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karstenkjems/
Follow Karsten Kjems on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karstenkjems/
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This interview episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco.
** Transcript available upon request
