So here are five reasons why it may be time to re-brand your audio:

1) Your audio no longer matches your visual brand.
Brands change over time, and can become edgier, or more conservative.  If it’s been a while since you’ve thought about your brand’s voice, you should have another listen.  Does it still resonate with your core demographic?

2) Your demographic has shifted
Target demographics can shift from time to time with the introduction of new products, services, or locations.  Or perhaps your client base was once very young but has now grown up.  The style of writing and production should shift to be in line with your demographic.  If your ads can’t speak to their perspective, they will eventually become indifferent to your brand.

3) Your brands music is starting to sound dated
There’s nothing worse than dated sounding music on an ad.  Well, maybe Ebola.  Okay, Ebola first, then dated sounding music in an ad.  This can send subtle cues to your demographic that your brand isn’t relevant and is struggling to keep up.  A fresh face-lift for your music can be an easy way to give you a whole new brand personality.

4) You sound too much like the competition
This one should be obvious – if your brands overall sound is similar in tone to many of the others in your industry, it’s time to shake things up.  The worst part about this infraction is that you could actually be reinforcing the branding efforts of your competition if many others perceive your advertising to be essentially the same.

5) You never had a true audio brand to begin with
Whether or not you intended on creating an audio brand, by putting radio ads, online videos, tv spots, etc. out into the advertising ether, you have unintentionally created one.  Now however, you’re faced with the reality that none of your content really sounds the same.  If this is the case with you, it’s definitely time for a re-boot on your audio.  There are three elements you should focus on to keep things in-line.  Consistency of writing style and tone, consistency of music, and consistency of voice.  When those three elements are working in concert, you’ll be well on your way to creating an audio brand worth remembering.

On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles directed and starred in a radio adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel “War of the Worlds” - an episode of the Mercury Theater on the Air that was meant to coincide with Halloween. It is now considered by many to be the most famous radio broadcast in history.

Radio shows back then regularly featured comedy acts, music and dramas, but this show was unusual in that it presented a drama in the form of a fictional newscast interrupting “regularly scheduled programming.” With great voice acting, sound effects and simulated “live connections” to the supposed scene of devastating events, the broadcast presented a realistic and compelling tale of an alien invasion of Earth.

As it turned out, it was so realistic and compelling that many people – apparently more than a million – believed it was actually happening.

A little background…

Network radio was still relatively new in 1938, but it had quickly become a primary source of news and entertainment (television didn’t begin to impact the average American home until later – even by 1947 there were still only about 44,000 televisions in the U.S.). It was common for families to gather around the radio after dinner to enjoy their favorite evening show. On that October night in 1938, it is estimated that 40 million people were listening to the radio (the total U.S. population at that time was 130 million). About 6 million tuned in to the broadcast of “War of the Worlds.”
As the drama unfolded, many listeners either heard only a portion of it or somehow missed the repeated notices that the broadcast was fictional. Actors gave detailed accounts of Martians attacking with heat rays and state militias being quickly overwhelmed. Other actors broke into the drama with casualty and damage reports. It was such an authentic simulation of a real disaster that people began calling friends and neighbors to find out what was happening. As other distraught listeners attempted to call police and fire stations, telephone circuits were soon overwhelmed. People took shelter in basements or jumped into their cars to flee in panic. According to the New York Times, “…families rushed out of their houses with wet towels over their faces as protection from Martian poison gas.”

Eventually, as crowds roamed around and found no actual damage, and, presumably, no alien space ships, the hysteria subsided. In some areas, it took several days.

By now, you’re probably asking yourself, “Self, this is fascinating, but what does it have to do with me?”

This is a reminder that radio was, and still is, a very important tool. If well-planned and well-executed creative audio can convince people that Martians are invading, imagine what it can do for your business. We’re certainly not encouraging you to produce commercials that will cause people to panic, but good radio advertising can put the power of imagination to work for you. Whether you’re using broadcast radio or streaming services like Pandora, radio, unlike television or print, doesn’t deliver ready-made images to the consumer’s eye. It prompts listeners to create their own images in their mind’s eye, and those images are often the most convincing of all.

Curious about the original broadcast of “War of the Worlds?”
You can find it here.

For starters…

While it’s obviously important that you get your message played frequently with an aggressive media plan, one thing you should never overlook is the importance of the message itself. There’s no point to spending all of your marketing budget on buying the best ad schedule if your message is a little… blah. The great thing about radio advertising is that it’s not as expensive as you might think, and it allows for a whole lot of imagination in the production. Want to film a TV commercial from Maui? It’ll cost ya! Want us to create a radio commercial that sounds like it’s happening in Maui? That bill’s a little easier to manage. Take advantage of this creative freedom and explore a few options.

Your branded message

Now that we’ve established the importance of being creative, you need to figure out what you actually want people to take away from your ad. Every piece of advertising you release should always promote the brand in some form or fashion. Do you want people to perceive you as the low-cost leader in your product channel? Are you more of a service and high-brow brand? These are all questions that should affect the way your ad is written. Finally, make sure you’re clear about what you hope people will do next after hearing your ad. Go to a website, call a number, come in to a physical location? People need to know what the next step in the process is.

Building an audio brand

Just like you would never send a print piece out without your logo on it, we recommend all your audio should be branded with an audio logo. These are simple and relatively inexpensive to create and help you develop a consistency that most lack. Think about some of your favorite audio logos. McDonald’s “Ba-da-pah-pah pah” or NBC’s chimes or any of the others you might know. Build consistency with it and take it across your TV and web audio for maximum effectiveness.

What can music branding or a jingle do for my audio brand?

Music has a way of getting into our heads and triggering emotions on a sub-conscious level. The concept of a “jingle,” a short advertising message in the form of a tune backed by music, was developed in the 1920′s and today continues to be one of the preferred methods for advertisers around the globe. Not only are they great for instant recognition, but they have a long shelf life. Some jingles last decades and never lose their effectiveness! However, the key to a great jingle, or a useless jingle, often lies in the quality of the production. Don’t skimp on this! Just think about it, you are taking the time and effort to engrain your message into your customers’ heads by appealing to several of their senses, don’t waste the effort by limiting the production’s quality.

Developing an audio brand doesn’t have to be a confusing mess. It’s really a simple (and very enjoyable) process! Contact Push Button and we’ll evaluate your branding needs. We always love a challenge!

It helps to think about the way you want your target market to feel. Kind of like enjoying a hot, juicy sub. “I want them to feel fulfilled,” or “I want them to feel like they could conquer the world,” or “I want them to come enjoy a hot, juicy sub,” are all valid statements when describing how the read should sound. When you ask us for specifics on how you want your VO talent to sound, we know exactly what to tell them so we receive the end result exactly how you want it on the first try. Being voice-over talent ourselves, we can communicate to them from a level of understanding better than most producers who usually don’t take the time to see it from the other perspective. So, give us your most impossible specs, we think you’ll be impressed!

Does your company have an identity? A brand? Can you explain it in a few sentences? Let’s put it another way; if someone gave you thirty seconds to stand in front of thousands of people and explain why you’re the best at what you do or offer, what would you say? If you don’t know the answer, or haven’t thought about it in those terms, you should. Once you do, you will understand the power of radio to help you tell your story, and build your brand.

Radio even makes your other advertising more effective. According to research compiled by the Radio Advertising Bureau, “When used synergistically with other media, it increases brand awareness, brand recall, and an advertiser’s return on investment.” Radio advertising can increase brand recall by 34% when used in conjunction with television advertising, as compared to television advertising alone. Radio advertising, along with print advertising, made branding three times more successful than newspaper and other print media alone.

Even with all the modern contraptions and distractions, there is still nothing is as strong and effective as the familiarity and comfort of the human voice.

Building your brand requires repetition and consistency. There are multiple opportunities to create impressions on your customers or potential customers during various interactions, not just in your traditional advertising. What about podcasts on your website for to educate your target market? Potential buyers not only view you as a resource – a place to find valuable information – but they spend more time on your site with your logo in front of their eyes. What about your on-hold messaging? Your online video content? By incorporating some of the same elements of sound you’ve used on radio or television – familiar music and voices – you can continue to reinforce your brand during every phase of client interaction.

Just take a look around your office. Odds are you’ve got a major crop of potential characters just sitting there. I know we do! Is one person in particular driving you crazy? They’re probably the best one! Exaggerating people’s quirks and making them seem larger than life really makes something more memorable. Developing characters like that makes it funny and usually has people remember someone they knew who was similar. Just make sure they don’t find out they were your inspiration!

As you try to develop a new campaign for your business, think about the things you go through every day. You would be surprised at how many of our award-winning ads first are modified from real-life experiences… but we’ll never tell.

While we may only be discussing powerhouse companies in this article, it’s important to note that those aren’t the only ones that should be concerned with how they are being branded. Whether you like it or not, there’s already a perception about your company in the public spectrum. Friends will tell friends where to buy cars, where to find the best deals on clothes or even what exterminator really gets rid of the bugs. So even if you’re unaware of what sets you apart, odds are there are a handful of your customers who do know! This brings us to our first major step in developing your brand…Set aside some time to talk to your customers and constantly ask for feedback. There may be something you already do that really bowls them over. Maybe there’s something you and your competition aren’t doing that could really help you set a new standard. In a world where market research is becoming critical for every business, you can’t let the most reliable and cost-effective feedback slip through your fingers! TALK TO YOUR CLIENTS!

Branding is in your own hands
The key to successful branding is really in your own hands. Wal-Mart didn’t get to be the powerhouse we know today because of a smiley-face. It was because Sam Walton jumped in his truck every morning and set out to find the best deals on anything he could and used all his disposable resources to make his branding efforts true in the eyes of the consumers. Therefore it’s your job as a manager/business owner to engrain this message into the minds of your customers.

The team members in your organization also play a critical role in developing your brand because once you have marketed yourself as the leader in one aspect of your business; you must make everyone within your organization believe it first. This may not be as easy as it sounds. You must constantly remind all members of the organization that you are all collectively the best and the only way to do that is by being honest in your branding. BE the best and everyone will know it.

You’re probably wondering how we have the audacity to tell you that the way to be known as the best is to be the best. But don’t forget the one critical aspect that will really make the difference: Tell everybody you’re the best. Shout it from the rooftops. Do a ‘We’re the best at what we do’ jig every morning if you have to! Bringing positive attention to your business through branding will have clients clamoring at your doorstep. We’ve preached it to every client we have. Every single bit of advertising you do needs to promote the brand and why you’re so much better than everyone else. So talk to your customers, figure out what makes you different, but, more importantly be the best and don’t let anyone forget it!

Dear Push Button Productions,

What is it that makes a radio ad successful? How can I develop content that makes people recognize and remember MY radio ads? Please help…I lay awake at night with worry that my advertising messages aren’t being received!

Sincerely,
Miss Undastood

Dear ‘Undastood’,

Since radio relies heavily on only one of your five senses, it’s only natural that we at Push Button spend a lot of time making sure that your ad says the right thing. Here are a couple of the key components that we look into when creating a message that will captivate your target audience.

-Selecting the right words. Since we can’t see the juicy burger (or car, or decorative-wall-mounted-singing-fish) you’re selling, the verbiage really needs to paint the picture.

-Draw them in quickly. You’ve only got a short window of time to capture the audience before they tune you out. You don’t have to have explosions at the beginning of EVERY ad, just something enticing.
-Make the audio compelling. Since a lot of radio listening occurs in the car when people are alone, radio is in a unique position to really appeal to their emotions. Use this to your advantage by setting the right tone for your ad.

-Consistent audio branding. Do your ads have the same elements from one to the next? Maintaining consistency with who is writing your commercials, establishing a voice actor as your brand’s voice, and adding elements like audio logos all increase the effectiveness of your ads.

That’s about as quick as we can sum this up…hope you can sleep better now!

A few years ago, a study was conducted involving different styles of music being played in a supermarket. The results were freaking awesome! When French music was played in the store, 77% of the wine purchased was French. When German music filled the air, 73% of wine purchased was German. Decision-making was drastically altered simply by the music being played. What’s even more amazing is that customers didn’t notice or believe that music was influencing them. Only 1 out of 44 customers spontaneously mentioned music as a reason for their purchase. When asked specifically about the music influencing them, 83% of customers said that music had no effect on their decision.

For advertisers, music is the back door into consumers’ minds. As music is being heard, it evokes emotions and memories that seemingly materialize in the buyer’s head. It is these emotions and memories that inform their decision. Using subtle advertising in music, consumers never see the ad coming and can’t shut it out. Simply put, music is the ninja assassin of advertisements.

And who doesn’t love a ninja. Nobody. That’s who.

You might be wondering, “how can my company employ these ninja assassin secrets!?”

This is not a simple task. Everyone can’t just play German oompah music and expect sales to skyrocket. More realistically, companies need to find music that echoes their brand message; a song that conjures the “feel of the brand.” Again, not an easy task, but there are professionals whose job it is to craft the perfect song for your brand. By creating custom music you can tweak musical elements until it evokes the set of emotions that your brand represents. As we learned from our wine buyers, the right emotional response often times means a sale.

Now consider this: 70% of all business callers are placed on-hold at some point in this critical interaction with a company. So before your sales team ever gets to speak with a potential customer, the caller has been introduced to the company via on-hold messaging. This messaging is critical in three ways: retention, information and branding.

On-hold messaging is used to keep callers on the line. In fact, callers stay on the line 25% longer when listening to on-hold messaging vs. silence or background music. That additional time could be the difference between making a sale and losing a customer permanently. The same study indicates that one out of every three people who hang up while on hold never call back.

It’s obviously important to retain customers, but high quality on-hold messaging not only keeps the caller’s attention but also informs them. On-hold messaging can deliver product information directly to the ear of the consumer. It seems counterintuitive, but most consumers actually prefer to hear product information as opposed to other hold options. By mentioning a product in on-hold messaging, businesses experience a 20% increase in requests for additional information regarding that product. Clearly, consumers want to be informed and on-hold messaging is an ideal outlet for the information.

Certainly, on-hold messaging improves the quality of consumer phone calls, but it can have much greater consequence. To the first time caller, on-hold messaging is their introduction to the brand. It is a golden opportunity to demonstrate a company’s humorous side or commitment to high quality. Whatever the brand, on-hold messaging can effectively differentiate it from the competition.

On-hold messaging is more than a simple suggestion; it is vital to creating customers out of callers.