Music plays an important role in how we and the message we are communicating are perceived. In addition to our own custom sonic theme, we sometimes have the need to use other music.

Our sonic theme is designed to harmonise with and be a fully integrated part of our brand identity. As such, it should always be considered our primary choice when selecting music. 

Music help us strengthen messaging, elevate events and complement various content. Different applications have different needs. Note that the theme is available in different versions and as modular stems, meaning it can be tailored for many different purposes. Depending on target group, context, channel, and the message we are trying to convey; the intensity, mood and instrumentation of the music becomes a powerful tool.

But there are exceptions. It could be that we need music for a campaign with a specific concept, or music for some type of event with a certain theme, to name just two examples. In cases like these, we may have to produce a new piece of music, or purchase a piece of stock music. But in both cases, our sonic concept and sonic principles should be considered the foundational starting point for the brief to the producer or the person purchasing stock music.

The initial approach when producing a new piece of music, should be to create a new version of our existing sonic theme. When doing so, we are not bound to genres or any specific instrumentation as long as the music harmonises with our brand and sonic principles. For instance, we may do a seasonal version with bells for Christmas. Or, an acoustic version with strings for The Scania Museum. There is plenty of room to play with ones imagination here.

If this route doesn’t feel viable, and an entirely new piece of music must be produced, the starting point should always be our sonic concept and sonic principles. Use that as the basis and outer frame for the brief, followed by clear direction on how this new piece of music should differ from the sonic theme and why. Also the additional references in this section comes handy to ensure a consistent expression of the Scania brand. 

The starting point when purchasing stock music should, again, be our sonic concept and sonic principles. In other words, look for music that conveys a general feeling of ‘advancing with presence’ while also being defined by its precise, present and driving characteristics. You can also quite literally use our sonic principles and do's and don’ts, e.g. ‘’precise’ and ‘confident’, as search terms when browsing through the vast libraries out there.

But when doing so, remember that Scania is a premium brand with a rich history of precise and purposeful engineering. Stock music is quite often, by nature, the opposite to that. In other words, avoid everything that sounds artificial, prefabricated and mass-produced.

Please note: Remember to always ensure that you license the stock music correctly, so that you actually own the rights to use it the way you intend to, in the geographic region in question and in terms of time period.

Below are a few additional examples of music and music descriptions to use as a reference and guidance when producing new music and purchasing stock music.

Please note: You are not allowed to use any of these references in any internal or external purposes, usage right does not apply. These are solely used as a guiding example in these guidelines.

We encounter voice, speech and use of voice over in many ways, from video productions, presentations, events and interviews. Voice is a powerful tool to build on our brand values.

These guidelines help us to navigate vocal qualities like tone, rhythm and texture to fit into the Scania brand. For the tonality in manuscripts or spoken word, read the tone of voice guidelines.

The guiding principles for voice over needs to be used differently depending on context and who is speaking, and how used the speaker is to take direction.

When putting the sonic principles in practice through voice, we have a set of guidance points and do’s and don’ts how to do so. 

We suggest to primarily use actual humans to record voice overs, but there may be situations where we must utilise voices generated by artificial intelligence (AI), for instance, text to voice systems or Synthesia.

AI voices are tools designed to mimic human speech. Despite the intention to sound human, there is a possibility that the voice may appear robotic and stilted. The way the voice sounds and its manner of speaking may significantly influence how stakeholders perceive it.

Therefore, be careful when selecting a voice and make sure it matches our sonic identity. Adhere to voice over principles and directives, and ensure to use a voice that sounds natural and realistic. Write the script so that it feels easy and natural to say, not like machine.