Episode Transcript
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(00:03):
Welcometo the Sound In Marketing Podcast.
I'm your host,Jeanna Isham, owner and founder
of Dreamr Productionsand Sound in Marketing Learning.
I create, consult and educateon the power of sound in marketing.
This episode is actually an encore episodefrom last season.
Why? One,
(00:24):
My next episode is taking a bit longerto finish than I'd hoped and two-
It totally appliesto the theme of this season.
anyways. In fact, LeftCoast Airlines was where it all started.
This was my first go into the worldof creating fake companies
and fake case studies to demonstratea real sound in marketing
solution,and I am pretty darn proud of it.
(00:46):
I say it's worth an encore, and seeing as
there are no real rules to podcasting yet,we're going to go for it.
Left Coast Airlines
wanted a podcast to advertiseto both new and existing customers.
Dreamr Productions went a step further,creating an unending
universe of branded sound possibilities.
(01:06):
Cue the dream sequence.
I don't know about you,
but flying has always been really funfor me.
I love getting on a planeand staring out the window,
watching the groundget smaller and smaller.
I watch the cars turn into fast movingants until the clouds swallow them up.
(01:29):
Then it's time for a good bookthat I can't ever seem
to concentrate on at home.
Lord of the rings,namely, flying is fun for me,
but probably because I don't do itthat often.
For some, flying has become so commonplacethat it's boring.
I'm primarily speaking of businesspeople who weekly board a 6 a.m.
(01:50):
flight from Boise to make their 9 a.m.
meeting in Seattle.
Then it's a full day of workat some temporary workspace,
followed by another plane flightto get home in time for dinner.
Flying isn't fun forthem, it's just another task.
One company has taken it upon
themselves to make that taskjust a little bit more enjoyable.
(02:11):
Left CoastAirlines is a small commuter airline
that has servedthe US West Coast since 1995.
Left coast strives to make that mundanebusiness commute a little bit more fun.
As they so eloquently statein their newest commercials.
Happy clouds for normal people.
How did they go about doing that?
(02:32):
First off, they get that their customers
generally would rather be anywherebut there.
So their marketing and customer serviceteam is packed full of humor and sarcasm.
Secondly, because these customersare frequent fliers,
the staff have gotten to know themon a first name basis.
They know all about the meetingsthey are going to
and the annoying reportsthey'll have to write.
(02:54):
They bring them their coffee
at 30,000ft and commiseratewith them for an hour or so.
Every single week.
Left coast was founded by Alex Sandberg.
He bought a fleet of 20 commuter airplanesto serve short distance commutes only.
Alex knew he couldn't compete withAmerican and United, so he never tried.
Alex's goal was simpleget the customer from point
(03:16):
A to point B cheaply and efficiently.
There was no first class.
There were just seats to fill.
He hired hard working average Joesand taught them to be great
customer relations agents.
Alex knew that his planesweren't very flashy and the seats weren't
the most comfortable.
He also knew that the flightsthat he offered weren't to prime
vacation destinations.
(03:38):
He didn't offer hype.
He provided a servicethat was realistic and necessary.
So he kind of made it the thing
the average Joe airlinefor the average Joe.
He encouraged his staffto keep that in mind as well
as the staff were working class too.
That was easy.
Everyone got alongbecause they understood each other.
And a boring flight became a fun onebecause of the company that was kept.
(04:04):
The airline grew and came to be knownas the Business Person's Airline.
Left Coast Airlinesis now in the middle of an expansion.
They purchased 50 midsize aircraftto join their 150 small size
commuter planesto offer longer flights to more locations.
This is where I met up with them.
Left coast approached Dreamr Productionsto help produce a podcast.
(04:26):
They were about
to launch their new series of commercials,Happy Clouds for Normal People.
They wanted a way to create more buzzaround it.
Left Coast Air has always been knownas the short commuter airline.
That's Jerry Morgan, Left CoastAirline's chief marketing officer
with flights to Canada, Mexico and Alaska.
(04:46):
We wanted to start reaching vacationersand weekend warriors on a budget.
Our prices are highly competitiveand our customer
service is always is top notch.
We’re perfect
for the middle class travelerstrying to fit in a mini vacation or two.
Although they may look great on paper,they're offering isn't very flashy.
They acknowledge thiswith a relatable sense of humor.
(05:09):
We believe in what we offer,but we also know
the offering is pretty boring.
So a good sense of humor is essential.
It's what we market to our staff as well.
Work hard, but have fun.
Listen to guest storiesand tell them some of your own.
Their new campaign was heavilyfocusing on just that hard
(05:30):
working people with real life stories.
It's relatable, funny, and shareable.
We shared the commercials with Jeanna,and she suggested
adding a sonic logoto the end of the commercial.
I didn't know what a Sonic logo was,but when she explained
that, it was just another elementof brand personality.
I said go for itand personality it brings.
SFX: Sonic Logo
(05:57):
Here's a sample of the new radio
spot with the addition of Left Coast'snew Sonic logo.
Hey Fred, did you hear that?
Left Coast Airlines flies to Alaska now.
Oh, great.
That means my boss is going to startsending me to meetings in Anchorage.
At least you'd be ableto watch a whole movie on the plane.
Do you know how many times I've tried tosee if Jason Statham is expendable or not?
(06:18):
Oh, yeah. Don't worry.He'll show up again in the next one.
Whether your destination is excitingor not, we've got you covered.
Our staff is standing byand ready to serve.
Left Coast Airlines
happy clouds for normal people.
And here's the commercial focusedon their new targeted market.
So Julia wants me to meet her parents.
(06:39):
Oh, yeah? Yeah.
They have a big family thingcoming up in Victoria, BC.
Who flies there anyway?
Left Coast Airlines does. Really?
I thought they were only for the US WestCoast. Nope.
They've expanded to Canada and Mexico.
Oh, great.
What's wrong?
Julia wants to go to a resort in Mexico.
Now, I've been saying it'stoo expensive. But.
(07:00):
But I can afford left coast.
They always have the lowest everyday prices.
Well, who knowsif your Victoria trip doesn't work out.
You won't have to worry about Mexico.
Thanks, man. No problem brother.
No matter your destination,
you can count on us to give youthe best experience possible. How?
We don't know yet, but we're ready.
(07:20):
And we serve cocktails when necessary.
Left coast Airlines
happy clouds for normal people.
We were already thrilled withhow the commercials
came out, but adding the button at the endjust sealed the deal.
We knew forsure that this was a good partnership.
Gina got in on the jokeand created something very us.
(07:42):
I wanted the logo to incorporate LeftCoast’s slightly sarcastic roots,
but still convey trust and commitmentto the travel experience.
It fit like a glove.
We've since added the sonic logoto all of our radio advertising.
And will be adding it to our commercialcampaigns in the next couple of months.
Then it was onto the podcast conversation.
(08:03):
Again, we discussed their personality.
We all agreed that humor should be firstand foremost for this podcast.
Their deals were affordable,but the story was in the stories.
We worked
together to develop a podcast of stories.
Jeanna suggested gathering storiesfrom our staff
that they had either heard over the yearsor experienced for themselves.
(08:25):
We even did a blast on social mediaso that customers could send
some of their own. From these stories,
we pieced together a template of sorts.
The stories would start normal,
and every day,but by the end would just get ridiculous.
The endings usually don't make any sensecompared to the beginning.
But by the end. No one cares.
(08:45):
Besides,by the time you're starting to wonder
what this has to do with that,you're already hooked.
And then it's just fun.
Which is the whole point.
Here's a clip.
Welcome to short stories made ridiculous.
Brought to you by Left Coast Airlines.
Short stories made ridiculous.
Tell stories that started in truthbut got way out of hand.
(09:07):
We don't get obscene,but we do get ridiculous.
So if you're shaking your head by the endsaying what?
Then you're welcome.
Today's story comes from a
couple in bend, Oregon who wanted to govisit their son in hood River.
The story starts with a plane ticketand ends with a canoe.
So secure those overhead bins and buckleyour seatbelts.
(09:30):
This is a good one.
Enjoy.
When Jeanna pitched the ideaof focusing on the people
rather than the company,we said yes immediately.
Our customers always have a good storyin their back pocket.
Personally, I can think of halfa dozen off the top of my head.
We thought, why not highlightwith our sense of humor at the end?
(09:53):
Jeanna’s thought to goridiculous was just the ticket.
The plan for the Sonic logowas to be the glue
between traditional marketingand new marketing.
The podcast was new.
They hadn't ever createdsomething like this before.
It needed to link back to Left Coastas much as possible.
Introducing the Sonic logo in thecommercials before the podcast launched
(10:16):
helped the listener to mentally notethe sound association with the company.
Using the Sonic logo as an indicatorof sorts helped them to remember.
Oh okay, this is from Left Coast.
Putting the Soniclogo into the commercials gave Left Coast’s
sound a foundation. By stretchingand manipulating that foundational piece.
(10:37):
I built a theme song for the podcastthat was familiar,
and the theme song was born.
(11:03):
The sonic logo
and theme song complemented each othervery well.
They're easy to rememberand incredibly likable.
The results?
Our customerscan't get enough of the podcast.
It's great. Press two.
Our social media shareshave never been higher.
Our Facebook followersstarted a hashtag Left Coast Laughs,
where they're making upridiculous stories of their own.
(11:26):
The Sonic logo is being remixedand parodied on TikTok and Instagram too.
It's very fun to watch all of thistake place.
All this organic attentionand interaction has generated
a lot of new inquiries and businessfor us from new demographics.
This was exactly what we were hoping for.
(11:46):
Workingwith Jerry and his team was so much fun.
We came up with a conceptthat everyone was very proud of.
The best part?
It’s easily repeatable
with user generated storiesbeing submitted to them every single day.
They've got miles of runwayfor fresh episodes.
They could feed that machinefor as long as they wanted.
(12:07):
And the logo, as demonstrated through thetheme song, is moldable beyond belief.
Left coast can build out this brandedsound for all sorts of audio
brand touchpoints.
Maybe the logo isn't quite long enough.
You could build out the logousing elements of the theme song
like this. (Example 1)
(12:29):
Maybe the pace is too slow.
You could speed it upwith something like this.
(Example 2)
Maybe the key isn't quite right.
You could transpose it like this.(Example 3)
Maybe
you just want a more drawn outromantic version
(12:50):
like this.(Example 4)
Or maybe you like the theme song,
but want to switch the instrumentationall around for a slightly different feel.
Maybe something like this.(Example 5)
(13:22):
There is no end to what you can dowith branded sound.
Sound speaks any language that you want it
to, which is its own separate episode.
So I'll just leave it at that.
If you want to hear the latest episodesof short
stories Made ridiculous,you can find it at www.
Not a real podcast.com.
(13:47):
I hope you enjoyed this episodeof my dream client
scenario with a real audiobranding case study example.
If you have a real company and a podcast,or a sonic logo sounds appealing.
Dreamr Productions would love to help.
We produce branded podcasts, sonic logos,and strategize branded sound plans.
Contact informationcan be found in the show notes.
(14:09):
Thank you so much
to David Cole,Jody Krangle, Jason Gilbert and Adam
Loftbomm for their helpin making these fake characters shine.
David, Jody and Adam are professional
voice artists and you should hire themfor your next project.
Their details will be in the show notes.
Thank you to everyone who helped meput together
this very interactive fake case study.
(14:32):
It is my mission to educate brandsboth big and Small.
That sound is availableand affordable for us all.
Let's make this world of soundmore intriguing, more unique,
and more and more on brand.