Audi is a German automobile manufacturer that produces luxury vehicles. The company was founded in 1937 by August Horch and has been headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, since its inception. Audi is the world's second largest luxury carmaker and has sold over 250,000 luxury cars in the United States since 1995.
In 2021, Audi decided to invest internally in expanding the original audio logo (the Audi Heartbeat) into a full-scale corporate holistic sonic identity.
Audi Corporate Sound is interesting and goes under your skin because it is emotional and touching. This bridges the gap between the Audi brand and the recipient.
The compositions are uncommon and engaging, and they give the impression of being an intensive experience. A unique blend of styles and inventive instrumentation are unmistakable prerequisites.
The Audi Heartbeat emphasizes the brand's underlying value of "Vorsprung durch Technik" or “Progress through Technology” and makes progressiveness audible. All audiovisual works are closely linked to the animated trademark, TV commercials ending for example, have the Audi heartbeat. As the basis of Audi's acoustic identity in purely audio-based media, it reflects the central brand aspect and gives the brand a globally recognized sound.
The Audi Heartbeat is based on the heartbeat of a real person. The pulse is an audio trademark that has long been connected with Audi and expresses the brand's emotive essence. It's supplemented by Audi Sound Studio instruments, resulting in the unmistakable Audi Heartbeat.
Heartbeat
The company also created a series of music tracks or scores to be used in every kind of media application. The Audi Scores are pieces of music composed particularly for Audi in the Brand Music Pool. The downloads range in length from 90 to 180 seconds and span a wide range of moods. Audi Scores can be used to integrate short bursts of the Audi sound into communication activities like film soundtracks, sound presentations, and so on.
They include the following tracks and moods:
Relaxation
Versatile score with driving passages. Composition with classical and electronic instruments
Flying Bird
Lively optimistic score. Reduced instrumentation, focus on pizzicato viola and brand piano
Berlin
Varied exciting scores with dynamic beat sequences and calmer, smooth passages. Use of pattern and arpeggio elements
Boston
Reduced score with driving string elements. Pattern composition elements. Instrumentation focus: strings and brand piano
Hamburg
Minimal, inspired score. Modern, light, pure
Freestyle
Modern electronic score
Fusion
Pulsing, driving score. Positive, moving impression using warm bass sounds and electronic beats. Electronic and acoustic instruments are combined in a harmonious and progressive way.
“The Audi Brand Voice is defined by Audi's brand personality. The voice is male and is taken from the brand's core claim "Vorsprung durch Technik". It makes the brand recognisable and acts as a form of quality assurance. The Audi Brand Voice is designed for all communication channels – such as TV and cinema advertising, brand films, radio commercials, online or trade fairs. It is used when what is being said is intended to convey the personality of the brand and should always be used when it is clear that "The Audi brand is speaking".
The Audi Brand Voice is characterized as follows: Gender: male Age range: 35–45 Pitch: medium to deep, trained voice, authentic and self-confident, no dialect (Audi Corporate Sound)
Other general applications have been developed, such as ringtones, and the brand also has a wide collection of car sounds divided by model.