Invention.
Trimpin: The Sound of Invention…

the sound of invention from Peter Esmonde on Vimeo.

Amazement.
Sonic technologist Woody Norris on ‘inventing amazing things’ at TED…

And finally, comedy.
Sweet Georgia Brown + Traktor. Because you can’t not laugh.

Enjoy — Noel Franus

• 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.

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

The idea: sonic branding and audio identity can and should be about creating intellectual property—protectable assets that grow in value over time. (Think NBC, McDonald’s, Intel, etc.)

As a cheat-sheet for you, I’ve identified four questions that any brand organization, large or small, local, national or global, can ask to begin creating that capital right away.

1. What is your return on music and sound today? Most companies spend millions and expect nothing in return…which creates the mindset that this is a cost, not really an investment.

2. Do you sound as unique as you are? Great brands inspire us. They solve problems, they make meaning. Yet most brands sound alike: generically upbeat, harmlessly acceptable and usually…forgettable.

3. What’s your emotional identity? How can/should you use music and sound to unleash the otherwise unexpressed emotional DNA of your brand?

4. How elastic is your brand? If you really want your brand’s sound identity to thrive everywhere it lives, ensure that it’s flexible enough to stretch, twist and grow across multiple touchpoints, markets and cultures.

And there you have it. I should mention that at Sonic ID we’ve used this framework successfully for our clients. Of course you’re free to do your own thing, too, and if that works for you then I’d probably enjoy hearing your story.

Happy reading,

– Noel Franus

In this show we get to the nut of sonic branding and audio identity—what’s possible and how we push the envelope. After all, we may wake to the clock radio, we tune into our iPods, we have our favorite artists. But most of us really understand very little about music and sound. What I explore in this show are some of the answers to a question: how can we leverage the power of sound for valuable brand experiences?

Guests Martyn Ware and Brian Schmidt are some of the world’s top creatives in doing just that. Ware is founder of Heaven 17 and the Human League, creative director at Sonic ID, and a sound designer with recent installations at the NY MoMa and the Venice Architectural Biennale; Schmidt has been the guiding ’sonic spirit’ for audio in the Xbox and primary composer for multiple game titles for Sega, Sony and Electronic Arts, in addition to hundreds of arcade, console and pinball games. Together their work has been experienced by hundreds of millions of people.

Listen online or download the podcast. Questions, comments and suggestions for future shows are most welcome.

– Noel Franus

With me will be: renowned soundscape designer Martyn Ware (London) whose work spans from founder of Heaven 17 and the Human League to a sound designer with recent installations at the NY MoMa and the Venice Architectural Biennale; and Brian Schmidt (Seattle), who has been the guiding ‘sonic spirit’ for audio in the Xbox and primary composer for multiple game titles for Sega, Sony and Electronic Arts, in addition to hundreds of arcade, console and pinball games.

This will be a live podcast, meaning you can ‘tune in’ live and participate in the conversation (via IM+Skype). (You’ll also be able to listen anytime after the show as you would a traditional podcast.)

Show details: Monday January 26, 9:30 a.m. Pacific time, 12:30 p.m. Eastern, 5:30 London time.
Show URL: http://www.smallplateradio.com/042/

Please join us. Many thanks in advance to Small Plate Radio for making it possible.

– Noel Franus

New year, new traction. Budgets may have tanked in the last year, but that doesn’t mean we should be standing still, ignoring the fine-tuning and maintenance that’s required to maintain strong brands.

I’ve talked with a number of companies that feel stuck—stuck to do anything other than maintain status quo in all aspects of the business. And that’s simply not necessary. It doesn’t cost much to spot a problem and understand how to fix it.

At Sonic ID we focus exclusively on the intersection of brands and sound. So I’ve compiled a quick list of five simple, decidedly easy options for improving the performance of your brand by exploring your costs and returns on music and sound, and how to boost the value of those investments in your brand. Comments/additional ideas welcome.

1. Embrace the bottom line.

Times are tight, and budgets are, too. Every last dollar in your CMO’s control is under the microscope: brand positioning, brand programs, traditional advertising, online media, guerilla marketing and so on. With most companies, however, there’s an elephant in the room regarding the dollars spent on music and sound across those touchpoints. People are hearing your brand on television, on the phone, on the web and at events, and what they’re hearing directly affects their perceptions about your company. What’s the cost of reaching those ears? If you don’t know, you should. Ask your peers, internal departments and agency partners. The sooner you can define that bottom line, the sooner you can make informed decisions about future spending.

2. Assess performance.

Once you’ve quantified your budgets, you can measure effectiveness. As with all brand-level funds, these should be performing as investments—not throwaway costs. Think NBC, Intel or Nokia; does the sound of your company articulate your core values and attributes, or are you just making a lot of dispensable noise? Music and sound affects what we think, say, feel, do…and buy. It should benefit your brand. Now’s a good time to listen to the brand across your mediascape to see what it says about your company.

3. Take a snapshot.

Assessing brand perceptions through the lens of music and sound can take time, especially if it’s a competitive review. But for powerful easy-bake results, a ‘sonic snapshot’ of your company can be conducted from your desktop. Using the web it’s relatively easy to find commercials, events, webcasts, podcasts, demos and other sonic evidence of your brand in the wild. What to look for: does your brand sound consistent, or chaotic? Unique or generic? Flexible or staid? Collect, compile and assess.

4. Harness the power of quick wins.

A revision to your company’s visual identity can affect hundreds of touchpoints and cost millions. Sonic identities are no different—the process of seeding, growing and strengthening perceptions takes work. There are, however, some simple fixes you can put to work right away: the music and sound deployed in your call center, online media and networked technology (computers, iPhones, mobiles, ringtones) are relatively inexpensive and easy to update, versus the extensive effort required to spread the sound of your brand across your next few tv campaigns. Identify your low-hanging fruit opportunities and move on them.

5. Don’t wait to plan for the future.

Now’s the time to think long term; what does your brand sound like, where should this live, and how should it evolve for maximum brand value? Yes, the economy sucks, but nothing lasts forever. Someday those budgets will free up, and when they do, you’ll be the one who approached the Powers That Be in your organization and said: “I’ve spotted a problem—we’ve been spending $x per year across the enterprise on this with dubious results. I can solve the problem and improve the performance of our investments. Here’s how.” When budgets open up, it’s better to be prepared than not.

– Noel Franus

The takeaway: music is a horrible liar. Brands that sound generically alike and eager to please fail to convey a sense of authenticity and trust. The funds that brands and their agencies put towards music and sound should provide stronger returns.

Feel free to download the piece — feedback welcome.

– Noel Franus

Our friend and Chicago-based sound designer Joseph Fosco pointed me recently to Auditorium, a Flash-based sound discovery game that’s worthy of your attention for at least an hour of your time (preferably sometime later this week, post-Turkey and cranberries, when you’re not billable or accountable to others).

Auditorium is created by Philadelphia’s Cipher Prime. Happy exploring.

– Noel Franus

One of their latest stories features Todd Machover at MIT’s Media Lab. He’s making composing accessible to the least likely of creators—people with chronic illness and very limited movement.

“One of my students made an interface so Dan [Ellsey] could use his head movements and the infrared controller on his head to actually draw the lines and colors that we use for our Hyperscore software. He wrote a piece that was transcribed for symphony orchestra and is absolutely dynamite.”

“He changes the sound of the piece; he changes the emphasis; he changes the texture; he changes the accents; he changes the color of the piece,” Machover says. “When he’s playing the piece, he’s a different person.”

The implications are certainly intriguing. Guitar Hero, Wii Music and Machover’s Hyperscore all point to a future in which the act of creating music is becoming drastically more accessible than it’s ever been.

We may not be creating works of genius. And some friends of mine with heavy music credentials may argue that we risk suffering from the oversimplicity dumbing us down to some degree. (Along the lines of Is Google Making us Stupid?) But if this enables a shred of creativity and play for folks who otherwise just wouldn’t go there, it represents a portal of opportunity that hadn’t been there before. And that’s a very good thing.

Happy reading/listening. I’m off to grind the coffee.

– Noel Franus