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….
Classic Jingles Getting Modern Updates
We’re very much in the midst of a sonic renaissance. Podcasts, streaming content, and voice tech are all on the rise, sound and music are driving social media on TikTok, and it seems like every week, another big brand is coming out with a new sonic signature. But it’s not always new sonic signatures. With…
The Audio Audit: Desjardins Insurance
The full-sing jingle has had a kind of renaissance in the last couple of years. More and more commercials are using original, sung music throughout. The great thing about modern jingles is they don’t sound like jingles. They just sound like music. We covered this a few months ago. Here I want to focus specifically…
Anatomy of a Brand Theme: Quinte Hearing Centre
This was a pleasure to work on. Not only are hearing clinics and sonic branding just a natural fit, Quinte Hearing Centre in particular presented some great branding opportunities. When branding any business, you’re looking for something unique. With sonic branding, you’re looking even deeper. You’re looking for some sort of emotional hook from which…
Sonic Branding & Small Business: The Perks & The Pitfalls
Last time we talked about authenticity in sonic branding. Here we’re going to expand on that theme and explore how authenticity (or lack thereof) can make or break a small business. As one of my contemporaries Jeanna Isham has said, “Sonic branding is not just for the fortune 500.” She’s right, of course. In fact…
Sonic Branding: 3 Levels of Authenticity
Authenticity It’s an overused word, isn’t it? But it’s overused for a reason. It’s important, especially in sonic branding. In fact, it’s very hard to build a sonic identity without being authentic. When you’re creating a brand sound, you find yourself taking business owners and brand leaders to places they’ve never been before, especially if…
Want to Reach Gen Z? Find Your Sound and Get on TikTok
I have to admit, like many branding and media professionals, I had dismissed TikTok for a while. That was until I saw this year’s audio indexes. This is where they rank the best performing sonic logos, as well as provide an overview of trends and changes in the audio branding industry. One of this past…
Jingle is not a Genre
A few blogs ago we talked about the full-sing jingle and its recent resurgence. I was suggesting that the format was more relevant now that commercials are often (for better or worse) shorter than thirty seconds. Music and singing are simply a faster means of setting an emotional tone and creating something more memorable than…
The Audio Brand of a Bicycle
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…