Brand Strategy with Original Music: A Strategic Advantage

Most brands spend months refining how they look, speak, and behave, yet treat music as an afterthought. Stock tracks are dropped in late, chosen for convenience rather than meaning, and quickly forgotten. The result is a disconnect between brand intention and audience feeling.

An original music strategy changes that dynamic. Instead of decorating content, music becomes a strategic asset that carries emotion, memory, and meaning across every touchpoint. From advertising and events to digital platforms and environments, original music can do the heavy lifting that words and visuals often cannot.

At WithFeeling, we see original music not as a creative flourish but as part of brand strategy itself. When music is designed with intent, it becomes a long-term investment in recognition, trust, and emotional resonance.

The Problem with Generic Music in Brand Strategy

Many brands rely on licensed or stock music because it feels quick and low risk. However, this approach creates several strategic limitations.

Firstly, stock music is not exclusive. The same track can appear in multiple campaigns, categories, or even competitor content. This immediately weakens distinctiveness. If your brand sounds like everyone else, it becomes harder to build recognition over time.

Secondly, generic music rarely aligns with brand values or tone of voice. It may feel “nice,” but it does not communicate intent. According to research in music psychology, sound directly influences emotional perception and memory recall, often more strongly than visual cues alone. When music lacks relevance, that emotional impact is diluted.

Finally, licensed music often has usage limitations. As brands scale, content needs to travel across regions, platforms, and formats. A fragmented music approach leads to inconsistency and repeated costs rather than a cohesive system.

An original music strategy addresses these challenges by placing sound at the centre of brand thinking, not at the end of the production process.

Original Music Strategy as a Brand System

An effective original music strategy is not about writing a single track. It is about creating a flexible sonic system that reflects brand personality and can evolve over time.

This usually begins with a long-form brand track. Think of it as the emotional blueprint of the brand. From this core composition, shorter edits, sonic logos, ambient loops, and functional cues can be developed. Each asset shares the same musical DNA, ensuring consistency while allowing flexibility.

Research from the field of neuroscience supports this approach. Studies published by institutions such as MIT Media Lab show that consistent audio cues improve brand recognition and emotional recall significantly when compared to inconsistent or generic sound usage.

As Keith Gillespie, Head of Sonic Branding at WithFeeling, often says:
“Music should not just support the brand. It should behave like the brand.”

This system-based thinking allows music to scale across advertising, events, digital platforms, IVR systems, and physical spaces without losing coherence.

Emotional Impact and Business Value

Emotion is where original music strategy delivers real commercial value. Music bypasses rational filtering and speaks directly to feeling. This matters because decision-making, including purchasing and brand preference, is largely emotional rather than logical.

Brands that invest in original music create stronger emotional anchors. Over time, audiences begin to associate specific sounds, melodies, or rhythms with a brand experience. This builds trust and familiarity, even before a logo or message appears.

There is also a performance advantage. Original music allows brands to optimise content length, pacing, and energy for each channel. Short-form social edits, cinematic event moments, and long-form brand films can all be derived from the same musical foundation.

Joe Dickinson, Managing Partner at WithFeeling, puts it simply:
“When music is designed strategically, it works harder, lasts longer, and belongs only to you.”

From a practical standpoint, original music also reduces long-term licensing costs and legal complexity, especially for global brands operating across multiple markets.

How WithFeeling Approaches Original Music Strategy

WithFeeling’s approach is rooted in strategy first, creativity second, and execution always. We begin by understanding brand values, audience emotion, cultural context, and usage scenarios. Only then do we compose.

Our process typically includes workshops, musical exploration, and testing to ensure the music feels authentic and effective. The result is not just a track, but a sonic identity that can be rolled out consistently across touchpoints.

You can see this approach in projects such as our work for Ain Dubai and Dubai Airports, where music had to function across large-scale environments, films, and everyday brand interactions. In each case, original music helped create a sense of place, emotion, and continuity.

For brands looking to future-proof their identity, an original music strategy becomes a foundation rather than a finishing touch.

Wrapping Up

Original music is no longer a luxury for big campaigns. It is a strategic tool for brands that want to be remembered, trusted, and felt. When music is designed with intent, it becomes part of how a brand speaks to the world.

An original music strategy gives brands ownership, emotional clarity, and long-term value. It ensures that wherever your brand shows up, it sounds unmistakably like you.

If you are exploring how music can support your brand strategy more meaningfully, visit withfeeling.com to learn more about our approach to sonic branding and original music.

All You Need is Love, and a Subscription to Our Bi-Monthly Newsletter!