If you’re starting a podcast, or even if you’re a veteran podcaster, selecting or creating theme music can be a pretty daunting task. The simplest option is to source stock tracks. Back in the day, stock music was trash. It was elevator music. You were embarrassed to use it. Today there’s more music being made…
Anatomy of a Brand Anthem: Northern Latitudes
This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. We’re going to take a brand theme (also known as a brand anthem) and see what’s going on under the hood. We’ll look at the concept, the methodology, instrumentation, as well as the textures and timbres, and how they all culminate to the audio logo….
Audio Branding: 8 Best Practices to Get Started
Some folks are skeptical of sonic branding when they’re first introduced to the subject. They want to know what kind of ROI is involved. They want some sort of magic number saying that a sound strategy will increase revenue by __%. Of course it’s not that simple. After all, what sort of ROI do you…
The Lesson of COVID: Crisis-Proof Your Brand
I’ve touched on this subject before, but I think it’s worth exploring in its own dedicated blog. When COVID-19 first hit North America in early 2020, most professionals were scrambling to adapt to a changed world. Being in the audio branding industry, it was very interesting to see these changes from a multi-sensory branding perspective….
‘I Saw it on the Radio’: The Power of Audio Imagery
Sound is incredibly visual. Back in college, one of my profs, the legendary Steve Bolton, had this poster in his office that said “I saw it on the radio”. For years I thought this was just a joke, but I later realized that it may have been more insightful than I initially thought. Before I…
The Clichés That Are Killing Your Ad
This is the blog I swore I would never write. I think I was hoping the problem would resolve itself before I would have the opportunity to address it. Unfortunately it’s a problem that continues to persist, so here we go. I’ll try my best to keep this positive and not too ranty. Does your…
Product Sounds: Audio Branding’s Secret Weapon
Rice Krispies is a boring, boring cereal, with an equally boring name. Fortunately someone realized it made a sound. They took snap, crackle, and pop and they ran with it, and that has sustained them for close to a hundred years now. If you have a product that makes (or can make) a distinctive sound,…
Assessing Your Brand’s Sonic Footprint (yes, you have one)
One of the first steps in audio branding is asking the following questions about your brand media. ►How much sound are we actually putting out?►How much of it was designed?►How much of it can be designed? But before we can design, we need to answer that first question. We need a clear picture of your…
Talk to One Person: Creating Podcast Intimacy
I’ve touched on this in previous blogs, but intimacy is crucial to presenting a good podcast, and it deserves a more expansive discussion. During podcast production, you should have two goals in mind.-You want the guest to forget you’re recording.-You want the listener to forget they’re not part of the discussion. The SpaceSome technical concerns…
Why You May Not Be Ready for an Audio Brand
Not every brand is ready to pursue an audio branding strategy. I’ve had many preliminary discussions that didn’t lead to action. And I hope that doesn’t sound bitter, because it’s not. Sometimes we may have the discussion and find it’s just not a good fit or it’s not the right time, and that’s perfectly fine….