You’d think after working with sound professionally for over twenty years I would have figured this out myself. But I didn’t. I’m always on the lookout for sound solutions in business, but it doesn’t always cross over into my personal life. I am a pretty avid cyclist. In the summer, I might take the car…
The YouTuber’s Worst Habit: The Over-Under
It’s a bit ironic that in a time when media hosts are worried their jobs will be taken over by A.I., many of them already sound like robotic versions of themselves. Let me explain. There’s an odd vocal habit out there that somehow survived the turn of the millennium. I call it the over-under. You…
Big Voiceover: Character or Stereotype?
I want to talk a little more about authenticity in voiceover, but from a slightly different angle. Is less more, or is more more when it comes to voice? Imagine you were having a conversation with a stranger, but you weren’t allowed to see them. It might feel a bit awkward, wouldn’t it? So many…
The Full-Sing Jingle: Is it Coming Back?
From roughly the seventies to the nineties, it felt like nearly every commercial was a full-sing jingle. And when I say full-sing, I’m referring to a commercial that is entirely sung, as opposed to just singing the brand name and maybe a slogan. Those never really went away, especially in certain industries like insurance. But…
Radio is Alive and Well…in Belleville?
Back in 2006, something very strange happened. The story was relayed to me by family friend Neal Stoll. At the time Neal was a national account manager for Saputo. His account was Shoppers Drug Mart which was just starting to expand more into food. Saputo was putting a national program in place to supply all…
Melody & Timbre: A Brand Needs Both
There are a number of sonic logos that tend to be heavy on timbre but light on melody. It’s great to have unique and engaging sounds, but they don’t always stick with the public on an emotional level. We talked about this a while back with Netflix as an example. Compelling sounds are great, but…
Male or Female Voice: A Discussion
I kind of see this as the third part in a blog trilogy. A few months ago we started exploring the increasingly irrelevant gender binary in the voiceover and branding worlds. In the following blog we took it a step further by looking more specifically at non-binary voices. This time we continue the exploration with…
No One is Bigger Than the Brand
When it comes to crafting a sonic identity, no one person is bigger than the brand. Not the CMO, not the customer or client, not you, and especially not me. One of the great things about sonic branding is the opportunity to create without your ego in tow. You’re not expressing yourself. You’re expressing the…
Building an Audio Logo: Loyalist College
Loyalist College recently did a huge overhaul of their visual identity as well as reassessed their position in the market. The time was right for an audio identity. This was very exciting because in their 50+ year history, Loyalist had never developed any audio strategy or assets. Fortunately when I entered the picture, most of…
The Importance of Sounding Authentic
I don’t know if people are sick of talking about COVID, but it was/is a crisis that taught us a lot, and there’s still lots more to unpack. Several months ago we talked about crisis-proofing your brand and building emotional depth through the use of sound. Something that I don’t think has been discussed enough…