Living in the world of MOGO

As times have changed, branding styles of companies have also changed with time.

Companies nowadays, are looking to improve their identity and use various tools to make them look catchy.  

Today, many tools are used  as branding practices. There is a concept of branding, called, MOGO (Musical logo), where music meets promotional practices. It is relatively a new concept, where logos are created by using sonic identity for brands.

“Over several jam sessions with my friend and colleague, late J.S Mani who was then the president of DDB Mudra, we saw this huge opportunity of using music as a strategic brand asset rather than as a tactical communication device. Our joint passion was brands and music. So we charted a vision for our company naming it BrandMusiq.  We design and manages the sonic identity of a brand. And the shortest expression of that sonic identity is a MOGO or musical logo, a term I created,”  says Rajeev Raja, the man behind this musical concept.

“When I decided that I would quit advertising and pursue music full time I realised that I would have to monetize my passion,” Rajeev adds

Rajeev is one of India’s finest Jazz and fusion flutists. His Fusion band ‘The Rajeev Raja Combine’ enthralls music lovers at concerts across India and abroad.

So how exactly the brain works for the musical logo?

“ The brain’s has this ability to absorb and make sense of music. Everyone likes different types of music. Some people may feel more uplifted when they listen to classical music, while others don’t get the same high when listening to Bach or Beethoven. However, research shows that despite personal preferences, music, in general, has a synchronized effect on people’s brains.” says Jyoti Iyer, psychologist.  

Talking about what process they follow to make MOGO for the brands Rajeev shares, “It is the culmination of a carefully managed three-stage process, which we call the MUSE (Musical Strategy Exercise).”

“The Musical Strategy exercise includes three workshops namely Brand Discovery workshop where we understand your brand like a human being which enables us to identify its distinct personality and the key emotions or Rasas that symbolize its personality. The second workshop is Sonic Moodboards workshop; it’s the intermediate stage in which we share sketches of sound to help clients identify the zone of their brand’s sound.”

“The last workshop is a presentation, where we create the sonic palette of the brand embedded within which is the MOGO.” Rajeev explains.

“In this digital age of fragmented media and shorter attention spans, speed is of the essence. More and more brands are realising that a sonic identity can help them connect faster and deeper with their customers,” he concludes.