MassiveMusic London applies science to develop Colgate's smile-inducing new sonic brand identity

American oral hygiene giant, Colgate, launched a new sonic brand identity, a suite of sonic assets and compositions, produced by international music agency MassiveMusic London, in collaboration with MassiveMusic New York.

Whilst reshaping its visual identity, Colgate also saw an opportunity to stand out within the oral care sector by owning the ‘white space’ within sonic branding in fast moving consumer goods. The brand sought to develop a distinctive and flexible sound that could live across its marketing, have global appeal and relevance, and which offered new opportunities for recall by consumers. 

Colgate needed a sonic brand that was memorable, modern and reflected its core brand promise of 'Optimism in Action', whilst also being flexible enough to be stretched into different genres and work across all product offers.

 “The need was complex - a system of branded ‘watermarked’ music stemming from a sonic DNA and an iconic sonic logo. This needed to work across more than 200 countries via online content, radio, product and TVCs. And so we created a sonic architecture that could handle this complexity and an overarching aesthetic to the new Colgate music and sound that has universal appeal,” says Roscoe Williamson, global creative strategy director at MassiveMusic.

MassiveMusic ‘big idea’ was to ground the music in science - taking all subjectivity out of the equation. Speaking to academics, ethnomusicologists and neuroscientists, MassiveMusic’s research pointed them towards the human hum as the right timbre (or sound quality) for the sonic logo. Consisting of a blend of both female and male tones, the sonic logo was recorded in such a way as to sound very real, close and natural. 

By creating a new and original sound that better matches who Colgate is as a brand, rather than looking to the sounds of the sector, Colgate aims to carve out its own area in the market.