Those of you who have been following this blog and accompanying podcast, have seen the direction I’ve been going with this. I know a lot of us are Creatives. A lot of us need help understanding how not to beat ourselves up in our own heads. And helping people with that (in a distinctly NOT professional capacity!) will never stop being a priority for me.
If you’re still interested in that topic, I’ve created a Facebook Group, just for you. If you’re looking for a place to share your Creativity and get encouragement from fellow Creatives, I invite you to join me there.
HOWEVER, my passion is also sound.
Specifically, voice overs and music. I use my voice both for my day job and for the pleasure of singing. I’d like to delve deeper into how that works in the greater context of branding – both mine and my clients’.
So while the Silver Linings blogs and podcast episodes will remain out there, and I hope you find them useful, I’ll be transitioning to a new podcast in a month or so.
I’m calling it: Audio Branding: The hidden gem of marketing. And it really is a “hidden gem”.
In a lot of cases, people forget just how much audio – voice overs, music and sounds in general – influence our behavior on a regular basis. We’ve gotten used to so many places sounds play a part.
Think about it for a bit.
We expect a car to sound a certain way (and am I the only one who’s freaked out when I’m in a Prius or a Tesla at a stop light??), even if that sound is changing. That’s why our phones still “click” when we take a picture, even if they don’t need to. Or why that vinyl scratching sound is used in ads all the time to audibly tell us an interruption is happening – even if it’s rare that people listen to records anymore.
The sounds used in advertising, make us automatically familiar with a brand (like McDonalds’ “I’m Lovin’ It” (ba da ba ba ba!), the sound of the Taco Bell bell, the Intel sound logo, or the trill of the NBC logo). We even recognize that an animated cartoon is The Peanuts (or a parody of it) by the trombone sound that happens when the adults speak.
We could all stand to learn something about audio branding.
Even those of us who make a living in the sphere. ESPECIALLY those of us who do that. Learn how to leverage your own audio branding – whatever that may be – and you win at marketing. The shortest bit of sound can be associated with your brand. It can automatically identify you and bring you to mind. And really – when it comes to marketing – that kind of instant recognize-ability just can’t be beat!
That’s why a lot of podcasts have musical and voice over intros (And if you need a voice for that sort of thing, that is certainly a service I offer. Feel free to get in touch). It’s why TV shows have recognizable theme songs. It’s why there are some pieces of music in a film that are automatically associated with a character – like Darth Vader’s Imperial March. (And wouldn’t it be cool if we all had theme music?)
I’m certainly not the first one to talk about this …
… but maybe my perspective as a voice actor and a singer will be helpful in digging a little deeper. And I fully intend to enlist the help of some very knowledgeable friends and colleagues who can also provide some insights.
For now though, I found a blog post on Gary Vaynerchuck‘s website that describes what “audio branding” means, and how he feels it’s the wave of the future. I couldn’t agree more (and check out his own audio branding. Pretty cool stuff!)
Here’s a quote from the article:
Over the next decade or two, what your brand sounds like is actually going to be an unbelievably crucial variable of success in a world that will be driven primarily by two things: voice and brand.
Would you consider reviewing the Audio Branding Podcast? If so, here’s the Apple Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/audio-branding/id1489042453 And if you like what you hear (and read!) – please do share it with anyone you think might be interested. Thanks so much!