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

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

Does music sound better today than it did 30 years ago? Sonic ID’s very own Martyn Ware leads a podcast conversation with experts Tom Dunmore (Stuff magazine), Rob Kelly (Strongroom studios), Stephen Budd (artist/producer manager) and Tim Lawrence (culture writer). Facilitated by B&W.

Bowers and Wilkins Senior Design Engineer John Dibb recently led a “sound tasting” at Abbey Road Studios: “On a personal level I felt the same satisfaction I felt as a teenage speaker designer, and still do as a professional, when someone really gets how important sound is and how getting the illusion closer to reality is such a magical thing.” Here’s the story.

Brandchannel.com has a good writeup on the use of sonic branding and identity in India — with quotes from our pal Marcel de Bie and my former Elias frontman Martin Pazzani.

Mascara has gone electric. Unfortunately the sound of Estee Lauder’s and Lancome’s new electronic eyeliner is a “hum as annoying as a vibrating cellphone.” I can only assume this is not an intentional attribute of either brand.

And finally…nice Frontline World story about a Mozambique singer who’s saving lives by singing about…latrines.

– Noel Franus

We define “sonic branding and identity” as the intentional use of music, sound, voice and silence to create a connection between people and organizations. Often one of the easiest ways to illustrate this is with the audio logo or sonic logo — the short identifier that brands often use as a brand signature or mnemonic. Mention the Yahoo! Yodel or the Intel Inside bong and people get it.

That’s the upside — but as with all good things, there’s a downside too…the risk of the C-word: commoditization. Today, for example, you can download your very own “sonic logo” in minutes for a few bucks. Yep, we’re talking stock photography, only with guitar.

More serious, however, is what the sonic logo can’t do. It can’t reflect the full breadth of a brand and its intentions in the experiences that matter most to customers. Once you step back and consider not what your brand sounds like, but how people experience it, the game changes. While many brand impressions are first seeded in advertising, it’s the first-hand experiences that customers have with your products or services that form lasting impressions.

For example, Harley customers don’t love the brand because of its commercials (do they even advertise?). They do, however, appreciate the unique hum and vibration of their hog, which you can hear from blocks away. This has nothing to do with sonic logos, advertising or even traditional marketing, yet this sound is a powerful brand asset for the folks at Harley.

Other product experiences that are driven or enhanced by sound (top of the mind) include the Apple and Windows startup sounds (as well as their error sounds); Nokia and Palm mobiles; heck, even a can of Pringles has its own sonic drama which is arguably more powerful than formal marketing.

Cities themselves have their own sonic identities, too, which we’ve written about before. Take the entire soundscape of the city of New Orleans. Or “Mind the Gap” in the London Underground.

Even Ford is getting into the game by quieting the rattles inside their cars, something BMW’s paid attention to for years, and which has a big impact on the balance sheet.

I get the feeling a sonic logo might not address that issue very well. But this is, however, something that sonic branding practitioners — and experience designers of every flavor, really — should be capable of doing. Solving problems. Building engagement. Making meaning.

This is what clients should demand with every sonic branding effort. Not just what can I sound like?, but how can I build brand faith everywhere my brand lives…across the end-to-end customer experience?

Otherwise you might as well grab that logo by the download. It does, after all, play a useful role. And hey, it’s fast and cheap. What could possibly go wrong?

– Noel Franus

In this second of a two-part interview with Martyn Ware (Heaven 17, Human League, Illustrious and Sonic ID) we hear about Martyn’s work with sensory design and immersive experiences in the healthcare environment. Also: what role does sound play in the recuperation process, and what can architects do to make life better for both guests, doctors and insurance providers?

Curious minds want to know. Give it a listen and let us know what you think. (MP3, 24 minutes)

Enjoy,

Noel Franus

All for now. My podcast number two is going up this week. Stay tuned.

– Noel Franus