There’s been a lot of talk about AI and its effect on the voiceover industry. Like any innovation, there’s no way to stop it. If a business wants to use AI tools to create a voiceover, that’s their prerogative. It’s also important to remember that any new tech is disruptive at first, but eventually settles…
When Brands Borrow Feelings
John Williams’ Superman theme is one the greatest in all of cinema. It suits the movie and the character perfectly, and it never lets up. It’s basically perfect. But imagine if instead of making something original, John Williams decided to just borrow an existing theme. Does it fit? Kind of. Is it impactful? Not really….
The Ad Inefficiency That’s Costing You Money
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…
Is Your Ad Really Your Ad?
Why do we brand businesses anyway? It’s not to show off. It’s to build memory structures. Let’s be frank. Few people actually care about your business. People aren’t thinking about Nike or Coke 24/7. They’ve got other things on their mind. However, when it comes time to buy, they are more likely to buy from…
The Big Question Most Businesses Can’t Answer
Before you advertise, before you even build your brand media and assets, there’s a very important question you need to ask yourself. What is our purpose? This question is not as simple as it may sound. Depending on your business, you might answer with plumbing, insurance, or dining. But these are just tasks, skills, services….
AI & Sonic Branding Part 2 – The Challenges
Last time we explored one of the advantages of AI and brand music. Now I’d like to talk about one of its disadvantages. Actually it’s more like a disadvantage of digital music in general. Digital technology has opened up a whole world of musical accessibility and flexibility. For instance, we have amp modelling software. Back…
AI & Sonic Branding Part 1: The Opportunities
I’m often asked what I think of AI from a sonic branding perspective. It’s a very big subject, and there’s a lot I could say. AI affects a number of elements of sonic branding, but for this blog and the next, I’d like to keep it focused on music. We’ll start with one advantage. When…
Sonic Brand Flow: What It Is and How To Get It
A good sonic signature is a crucial element in any brand’s media strategy. But you can’t just create any old sound and call it a day. I’ve often criticized the Netflix sonic logo for this. It’s a cool sound, but it doesn’t have any melody. It’s so bland that for cinematic presentation, they enlisted Hans…
Sonic Branding Visualized
Sound is very visual, and we can use sound to paint a picture. Or sometimes we can go the other way around, and use a picture to create the sound. The video will do the heavy lifting on this one.
A Very Brief History of Sonic Branding
Depending on how you define it, sonic branding goes back thousands of years to vendors chanting in the streets to sell their wares. But if we’re going to limit it to mass media, we go back to 1926. At the time, Wheaties was a failing product. That is, until they decided to sing about it….