Every week I’ll post some advertising music that you just can’t get out of your head – a sticky song.
K9 Advantix
Have a listen to this week’s catchy song sung by our canine friends. “There may be bugs on some of you mutts…”
Archive for September 2011
Almost all brands have their own visual identity but as digital media and the use of smartphones approaches critical mass it is now necessary for brands to also have an audio identity.
So far some of the world’s largest organizations have invested in the process known as audio branding. Not to worry if you are a small or medium sized company because you can still tap into the powers of audio branding too.
It is important to realize that the power of music and sound today means that it now also carries message. Like the warning chime your computer makes or the bird chirp sound at a crosswalk many sounds today are being used as signals. For the marketer to be an effective communicator it is vital that everyone understand the message that music creates.
Today I want to show you what goes into building an audio identity. In doing so I hope this will help you build a better audio brand for your organization.
Identify Your Brand
The first part of any corporate branding process it to identify the brand and its values.
This step will help to identify the message that your brand wants to project. It will usually take the form of a workshop with the key brand guardians. Anytime a founder can be involved in this part of the process is advantageous. The goal is to discover what your brand is and what it wants to be.
To further identify a brand you must also complete an audit of your brand’s past and an audit of your brand’s competitors.
When looking to the past of your organization you want to look for any previous uses of audio. Be sure to check all potential customer touchpoints. Examples could be a radio or TV commercial, a corporate YouTube video, product demo or training DVDs, on hold messages and audio used in store. If you are a brand new company than you will not have to spend much time on this, however, if you are an older company be careful not to forget about the past completely. You may miss a potential gold mine.
Now you’ll need to take a look at what your competition is/has done. This will give you a good barometer of where to start implementing your audio identity. Have a listen to their radio ads. Put a caller on their lines to see how they sound. They may not have much, but this would be a good thing for you since it will help differentiate you.
By identifying the core values of an organization a sound consultants can create sonic messaging that will communicate the identity of a brand not just random noise.
Create the Audio Identity
As a composer and sound consultant this is my favorite part about creating an audio identity.
To create the sound a good music composer will use their knowledge of sound to create a message that will identify your brand. A typical audio brand will start with an audio logo, which is something that has made Intel famous. Audio logos are short sound files created strictly to identify a brand usually at the end of a mass media advertisement.
Other audio assets that are normally created for a brand are on hold music, radio and TV advertisements, in store audio, way-finding signals (like a purchase sound or cross walk sound), selecting a brand voice (male/female, old/young) and developing a sonic style guide.
The sonic style guide or FakeBook as we call them at TreBrand is a guide that explains the usage of sound within the context of a brand. It will show the notation for an audio logo, sounds/instruments that a brand should use, style of music appropriate for a brand and how any audio assets should be implemented. Most designers would liken this to the visual style guide.
Of course all of this supersedes the actual composing of music. In general the music and sounds will be created before the style guide is produced. In most cases the audio style guide is the last part of the equation. It allows a brand to stay consistent into the future.
Implement the Audio Identity
Last but not least is the actual implementation of the audio brand.
Based on the research you have completed earlier you will have a good idea what mediums you will need music and sound. This stage gives you the opportunity to plan that implementation.
Once you have selected the final resting places for your audio you should have a sound engineer professionally prepare the audio assets for that medium. This step will usually be completed as part of the creation process but it is a crucial step so ensure it has been done.
Well, there you have it. How to create an audio brand in 700 or so words. Certainly only touches the surface of what is involved, but I think it will help you to create a sound that your audience will want to buy from.
Every week we’ll post one of our favorite songs that sticks in your mind – a sticky song. We’ve posted some classics and new memories since we started this weekly series. This week is a star studded TV commercial.
Chili’s Baby Back ribs
This one gets stuck in your head because of its repetitive and funny sound. The first video is the song in its original form. Check out the second video for a performance from *N Sync.
The last few weeks have been jam packed with news in the audio branding industry. I thought I’d take a minute to put them all in one place for you. So, here goes.
“The Great Happyfication” – Coca-Cola Uses Branded Media to Get You to Sing Its Tune
Released just a few days ago Coca-Cola is expanding it’s reach into the entertainment creation business. A six and a half minute video has been commissioned to celebrate the 125th birthday of the brand. The most interesting part of the video is the use of sound. Coca-Cola in this video has created a musical based on its signature audio logo. Here’s a link to “The Great Happyfication” video.
Audio Branding Academy Announces Speakers for 2011 Audio Branding Congress
On November 17th the Audio Branding Academy will host it’s annual congress in New York City. Just announced this week is the speakers for the congress. The names on the list are truly all-stars in the audio branding world. Here is a link to the congress page where you can find more information about the exciting presentations.
Nokia Launches A Contest To Find Its New Tune
Recognized by millions the Nokia tune is due for a face lift. Announced in early September Nokia will be providing a $10,000 prize to the winner of a global contest to find the next Nokia audio signature. The judges of the contest will be fans and a panel of experts. The contest is sure to raise awareness for the brand and is sure to help out one musician in a major way.
Every week I’ll be posting a song that you can’t get out of your head – a sticky song!
It’s Kickoff Time
Last Sunday was the kickoff of another action packed NFL season. In honor of that here’s a sticky song that gets sports fans everywhere excited to watch some football.
NFL theme song
Here’s a bonus because sports fans know football signals the start of an exciting fall lineup of sports.
ESPN theme song
Get on the dial of your customers with radio advertising
Below are a few things to think about before committing to a media buy. Notice I used the word committing. Radio advertising, like other forms of promotion, should be part of a long term plan. You shouldn’t expect instant sales.
How to Advertise on the Radio
First, know your market. Yes, you’ve heard this before but it is vital to your success. Each radio station caters to a different audience. If you don’t know who your customers are then it’s going to be a tough task for you to pick a station to advertise with.
After choosing a radio station to advertise with you’ll need to find the best time to advertise. Radio advertising, unlike advertising on TV, is a time based medium. So, this means you need to pick an appropriate time when your customers are most likely to be listening to the radio. In general the best times are mornings up to about 9 or 10 and afternoons from about 4 to 6. Weekends are certainly available but can be much harder to nail down when your prospects are listening.
Once you have selected a station and time to advertise your product or service you’ll need to create the radio commercial. Most stations will do this as part of the cost of advertising with them. However, do not let them write your commercial unless you want to sound like everyone else. If you don’t have the resources it’s okay to let the station do the sound work and possibly the announcing. In general, it is always better for you to create the commercial and deliver it to them.
That’s about it. Radio advertising is a great way to boost your business if done correctly. If you have any questions please ask your local audio branding consultant.
Every week I’ll post a song that sticks in your mind.
After last week’s departure lets get back to brands using music successfully.
Juicy Fruit
Not only will you keep your breath fresh but you’ll be singing this jingle all the way to your local convenience store.
One of the most important tasks of a marketing professional or business owner is determining what position in the market you are going to take. Once you have decided what position you want the other tough task is to get that position into your prospect’s mind.
A large challenges you have is that your competition may want to occupy that sames space. First, this is a mistake – be different.
The whole point of a position is so that your customers have a place to put you in their mind. Humans naturally love to categorize things. Without a place in your prospect’s mind you’re just another business and most likely a struggling one at best. However, this challenge seems to have perplexed many organizations today since many new products and services are simply me-too renditions of the leader in that position.
That being said it is possible to create your own space even in a crowded marketplace.
Case in Point
Energizer® vs. Duracell®
The competition between these two brands has been around since the beginning of time. Okay, maybe not that long, but these two behemoths have been battling it out for a while.
Here’s how I see each organization as it is positioned.
In my opinion, feel free to argue this in the comments, Energizer® takes the long lasting route while Duracell® takes the reliable route. They achieve this by effectively communicating to their target audience via mass media advertising and other marketing initiatives.
What I want you to notice is that each brand is going after essentially the same group of customers with basically the same message – our batteries are the best and longest lasting.
Do you notice the subtle difference?
Both brands have created a position that makes it possible for each to attack the same market but be different enough that they don’t encroach on each others space.
Round Up
Positioning is a tough task but every brand, company and organization must find its own place. The benifits far outweigh the work you have to put in to find and create the right space in your prospect’s mind.
Alright, I’m going to take a brake from the brand infused jingles this week, although this video is sponsored by Chipotle. The sticky song for the week is a splendid cover song of Coldplay “The Scientist”. The cover has been created by country legend Willie Nelson. It’s short but sweet. Hope you enjoy.
The Scientist
Here’s the original Coldplay song:
And now the cover done by Willie Nelson: