Imagine one of your coworkers. Now imagine having to introduce yourself every time you saw them. Sounds frustrating, right? It would certainly waste a lot of time. Oddly enough, most audio ads choose to work this way.

Old school radio wisdom would suggest you say your name at least five times. This isn’t necessarily bad advice for a new business just starting out. But if you’re still doing this after years of advertising, you’ve wasted those years.

There are two broader components to any ad: what is the message, and who is giving it. Inefficient audio ads use the words to do both. If you have an established brand sound, that’s establishing the who, while the words are free to explain the what. You no longer have to waste precious time/money telling the listener who you are.

When you hear a McDonald’s ad, you know it’s McDonald’s. They’re able skip the introduction and go straight to the new burger. State Farm has built over fifty years of brand equity. They can tell you about their offers while their melody plays in the background. When Home Depot’s groove starts playing, and that voice starts talking, you know exactly where to get those tools.

The biggest mistake writers and producers of audio ads make is they write and produce under the assumption that the audience is hanging on their every word. They’re not, and they haven’t been since TV was invented. Audio is a companion medium. It’s happening while people are doing other things. They’re driving, they’re cooking, they’re at work (worth noting that TV is increasingly becoming a companion medium).

This may sound like a disadvantage, but strong branding turns it into a huge advantage. Let’s use a visual example. People often think of audio as TV without pictures, when in fact, it’s more like a billboard. It’s happening in the periphery of our attention, and you have limited time to make your case. With brand assets, either visual or auditory, you’re able to make the who obvious so that the what has time to reach.

Take this McDonald’s billboard for example.

Not only did they not waste a quarter of their ad on their name, they didn’t even have to say their name. Strong brand recognition let’s you put the what front and center because the who is obvious.

A brand sound gives you the ability to skip the introduction and cut to the chase. It takes away the clutter and makes it digestable. The listener is no longer ignoring background noise. They’re subconsciously thinking, “Oh, that’s _____. I wonder what they’re up to now.”

Strong brands need little introduction, whether visually or sonically.