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…
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….
Sing or No Sing: Audio Brand Power Moves
There are exceptions to every rule. I’ve always felt very strongly about having a brand’s name as part of its audio mnemonic. This often takes the form of a jingle, but not always. Sometimes the spoken name worked into a strong melody can be just as effective. It’s often a better fit as well depending…
The Audio Audit: Netflix 2/5
Whenever I host a presentation or webinar about audio branding, I usually play a brief game with the audience. I’ll play an established audio logo, and invite them to tell me who or what it represents. They always recognize McDonald’s, HBO, and Intel. I stopped using Netflix because people rarely got it. This is not…
The Audio Audit: CBS 4/5
Last month CBS launched a whole new rebrand. It’s a visual rebrand with a new audio logo that sets the tone for the animation. These kinds of rebrands are not uncommon, especially for a brand as old as CBS, but in this case, it sounds like they’re doing it for the right reasons. “I wanted…
Why So Many Radio Ads Fail – Part 2
Last time we highlighted some of the differences between active and passive media consumption. Another distinction that needs to be made for audio-only advertising is emotional versus logical persuasion. There’s certainly a lot of value to persuading with facts, figures, and data, but numbers don’t always convey well in audio ads. To a passive listener,…
Why So Many Radio Ads Fail – Part 1
I started my career in radio, and something that continues to frustrate me is how so many writers and producers of radio content will write and produce with this idea that the audience is hanging on their every word. The hard truth is they’re not, and they haven’t been for well over fifty years. Remember…