Archive for April, 2009
Latest podcast is now available—music and the mind
Photo by Mikey G Ottawa
The latest episode of our Sonic ID Sonic Convergence radio show/live podcast — where we explore the role of sound in creating useful and interesting products and experiences — is now available for listening/download.
Our most recent show features Seth Horowitz, a neuroscientist and psychologist with Brown University and Neuropop; and Brian Schmidt, composer and technologist at Brian Schmidt Studios.
If you’re expecting a show on music and marketing, scratch that. We touched on dolphin intelligence, rocket-science research and the science of sleep…not to mention the inevitable topic of the relationship between music and language. (I did my best to keep things accessible for everyday listeners without sacrificing quality.)
Thanks again to Seth and Brian for being brilliant, and to Small Plate for making it happen. If you enjoyed the show, let us know. And don’t forget to speak up if you have ideas on future topics.
>> Streaming file available here
>> Downloadable MP3 available here
– Noel Franus
Live Podcast Thursday 4/16: Music and the Mind
What do we know about how music and sound affect the mind? What don’t we know? How can we use this knowledge to build breakthrough products and experiences?
In this second edition of our Sonic Convergence live podcast series, I’ll be speaking with research neuroscientist and psychologist Seth Horowitz, who is Assistant Research Professor at Brown University and a partner at Neuropop.
I’ll be hosting the show. Also joining us are Martyn Ware, creative director, Sonic ID and Brian Schmidt, principal of Brian Schmidt studios.
Join us for the live podcast Thursday April 16 at 7:30 a.m. Pacific / 10:30 a.m. Eastern / 3:30 London, or anytime afterwards for the archived edition.
Got questions? Post them here in advance, or contact us during the show using the IM widget right there at the show’s website.
Show URL: http://www.smallplateradio.com/042/
– Noel Franus, partner, Sonic ID.
One. More. Week. Interesting ‘09 in Portland
Well here we are. One more week til Interesting Portland. If you don’t have your tickets yet, get it together.
Topics include…
1927: The Real Birth of the Cool
A brief (and otherwise secret) history of sans serif typeface
What We Still Don’t Know
How to pick out a peach
One day Robert Duncan went insane
A Contemporary Idea of Justice
Donut Eating Contest by Voodoo Donuts
10 Lessons of a Bicycle Delivery Soupman
…A night of 20 different 3-minute speeches on a hugely wide variety of
topics. Like no other lecture series you’ve been to.
Interesting Portland, April 9, 2009, Norse Hall Get tickets.
See you at the show. In addition to presenting my own 3-minute surprise, I’ll be working the door or the floor, so be sure to introduce yourself. Looking forward to it.
– Noel Franus
Guidance for brands and other organizations
Found myself referenced in a recent Ad Age/CMO Strategy piece on music and brands. It’s a writeup on the Heartbeats International report, which if you haven’t seen it, spells it all out:
- 97% of brands believe that music and sound can strengthen their brand.
- 41% believe it can do this by building a consistent image of their brand.
- 27% believe it can help make their offer unique from competitors.
I’m going to take a second to follow up on that. The obvious conclusion (stated so well by writer Charlie Moran) is that sonic branding and audio identity is “worth a hell of a lot more money than you put in, because it’ll be fortifying what you’ve already got.” For the most part, he’s referring to television and the agencies working with tv. Which is a sensible starting point.
But wait. There’s more. Peel back the onion and you’ll see that in every global brand, right now at this moment, decisions are being made about music and sound that have nothing to do with television or catchy jingles. For example:
- A facilities and maintenance manager in suburban Dallas is selecting the background music for a corporate briefing center, sales area, or other customer-facing space—spaces devoted to the generation of revenue.
- A phone-systems integration manager outside of Boston is choosing the music and voices that millions of conference-callers will hear when they dial into virtual meetings. Meetings with captive, often influential audiences.
- A programmer/developer in India is hurriedly selecting the blips and bleeps that will be a core part of his/her company’s mobile devices.
- A marketing team in EMEA is outsourcing the selection of music (walk-ons, background tracks, demo audio) for their annual 20,000-person event to a company that’s also responsible for such things as food and Powerpoint creation.
Forget television. Forget sonic logos, audio stings and mnemonics. Toss aside the jingle. These people don’t need any of that; they’re responsible for some of the moments that can make or break the user experience, the guest experience, and the feelings we have about a brand.
What guidance will you give them? How prepared are you to get them jazzed about the brand? Who’s funding their operations? Who do they report to? Why should they care?
Been there before, as both a client and consultant. It’s never easy, but brands do live everywhere. Everyone who manages them needs the right guidance and/or tools. The same guidance that feeds mainstream media should be able to play out for many other uses as well.
Anyone who invests in, produces or directs a sonic branding or audio identity effort should keep this in mind. Treat it like a good, hardworking investment and it will perform like one.
– Noel Franus
