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….
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…
Netflix Cinematic Logo: Upgrade or Band-Aid?
Netflix recently expanded on its audio logo for cinematic presentation. You’ve heard the original many times before. It’s that signature percussive tone that precedes all their original content. And for this job, they brought in the big guns. They recruited film score veteran Hans Zimmer to bring some buildup and weight to their existing sonic…
Geo-Audio Brand: Harnessing the Power of Culture Sound
Let’s put business aside for a bit and look at geography. I’ve spoken before about the famous wine study in the UK. In short, a wine shop played German music on certain days, and French music on others. On days when they played German music, they sold three times more German wine. On days when…