January 10, 2023 • 14 mins
COVID has brought emotion to the forefront. Now is not the time to sell but to relate, learn, and grow. How can we do that through sound in marketing?
This episode was a re-boot from an article with the same name that I wrote back in 2021.
Thanks to Pixabay Sound Effects, Old Radio World, and NPR for some great clips. The musical examples listed in order of appearance are; Fairy Tale, Untitled Sound Logo, Satisfying Ending Logo, Sun Salutation, Along Came a Spider, and Bonus Round. You can also find the musical examples on Songtradr.
---
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For further inquiries, email Jeanna at mailto:jeanna@dreamrproductions.com
The Sound In Marketing Podcast is produced by Dreamr Productions and hosted, written, and edited by Jeanna Isham. It is available on all the major podcast channels here https://pod.link/1467112373.
Let’s make this world of sound more intriguing, more unique, and more on brand.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeannaisham/
https://twitter.com/Jeanna_Isham
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
Welcome to 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 educate individualsand brands
on the power of sound in marketing.
This season will be a culminationof thoughts and theories and musings that I’ve
formed over my years of experiencein sonic branding and sound marketing.
(00:27):
If the content in these episodesinspire actionable
ideas for your company,don't hesitate to give me a call.
This is what I do,and this is what I know.
I make sound on purpose.
All contact info will be providedin the show notes.
Now on to the show.
This episode we'll be talkingabout marketing past Covid.
(00:49):
Marketing through soundwas given its truest opportunity
after the most negative thing could havehappened to our global community.
This is truly an unprecedented situation.
This virus doesn't discriminate.
It attacks everyone.
I want every American to be preparedfor the hard days that lie ahead.
The coronavirus has changed lifeas we know it across America.
(01:09):
Covid 19, the coronavirusdid a lot of heavy hitting.
In fact,the repercussions are most definitely
still in effectand will be for many more years.
I'm sure it's increased our anxietyfor the future
of our businessesand the economy of the world.
Recession or no recession?
We all know it could be better.
(01:33):
What will our
bottomline be when all of this blows over?
How much should we spend on advertisingand marketing for our brands
during this time of financial uncertainty?
How do we keep our sales numbers upwhen people aren't spending
like they used to?
And in fact, changingwhat they spend their money on entirely.
(01:53):
What once was normal is no more.
We need to move onand build on a new normal.
In the past,marketers have relied heavily on data.
They've drawn up their statisticson typical spends and routines
of white male aged 34or Hispanic female, age 56.
They market to these well thought out,well-researched demographics of people
(02:17):
that buy their goodsand request their services.
However, our buyer and consumerdata is now outdated.
What once was a spend is now a windowshop.
Routines have been altered and evolved.
The buyer persona is new.
All of us experienced 2020 differently.
But let me paint my perspectiveto assist with my point.
(02:43):
On March 20th, 2020,
California became the first stateto officially be on lockdown.
However, in Los Angeles County,where I was,
the closures started about a week before.
People who generally had an hourand a half to two hour
(03:05):
one way commutefrom the Inland Empire to Santa Monica.
(Seriously, you guys) were now at home.
Massive conferences
and festivalslike NAB and SXSW
were canceled.
Studentswho used to frequent dorm hallways
and late night parties were not.
(03:27):
Shopping malls were empty, and restaurantsand breweries
were closed.
Suddenly, everyone was at home.
Some were with their family.
Some were by themselves.
Normal routines stopped.
Busy day to day life slowed to a crawl.
No one was shopping or socializinglike they used to.
No one was or everwill wash their hands like they used to.
(03:52):
2020 wasn't the time for a sell.
In fact, now isn't the time either.
Now is the time
to relearnwho our customer and consumers are,
because they're not the same peopleanymore.
In fact,even if they were the same people,
those people are not the same people.
They were pre 2020.
(04:13):
If you get what I mean,
our numbers and statsand personas are now completely obsolete.
It will take us some timeto build those back, but
in the meantime we should beinnovating our marketing strategies.
We need to get to know our consumersin a brand new way.
This is hard.
(04:33):
How can we market to someone
without ending with a sales pitch,without being intrusive or offensive?
How can we really, truly connectwith our audience
when we are a business as welland need to sell our goods and services?
We have our bottom lineto worry about too.
We know that the ad written and shotin February 2020 about the amazing,
(04:53):
luxurious experience you'll have drivinga brand new Audi is no longer relevant.
Marketing budgets
shrunk, then ballooned,then changed again.
What do we do when the way we always didthings has to change?
What can we hold on to?
What has had a proven trackrecord of engagement and authenticity
(05:15):
for over 100 years, and doesn't requirenearly the same amount of gear
and production and heavy lifting? Sound.
Radio has been king since
since it went commercial in 1900.
As of late,
it has dropped off in listenership,only to be reinvented and rebooted again.
(05:35):
Same medium,
different formats.
The concept of auditory storytellingis more relevant today than ever.
Radio used to be our main sourceof communication.
It connected us to the worldas well as local community.
Really,it was the main source of entertainment.
If you haven't experiencedany old radio land, radio shows
(05:56):
and their brilliance,let me just give you a taste.
(Playing Who’s On First Sketch) Let's see we have on the bagswe have who's on first?
What's on second?I don't know is on third.
That's what I want to find out.
I say who's on first, what's on second,I don't know’s on third.
Are you the manager?
Yes. You're going to be the coach too.
Yes. You know the fella’s name? Well, I should.Then, who's on first? Yes.
I mean, the fella’s name. Who. The guy on first. Who.
The first base man? Who. The guy playing first? Who is on first. I'm asking you.
(06:16):
Who’s on first. That's the man's name.That's who's name? Yes
Well, go ahead and tell me.That's him. That's who? Yes.
Look,, you got a first baseman?
Certainly.Who's playing first? That's right.
When you pay off the first basemanevery month, who gets the money? Every dollar of it.
All I’m trying to find out is the fella’s name on first name.Who.
The guy that gets the money. That's it.
Who gets the money. He does. Every dollar.
(06:37):
Sometimes his wife comes downand collects it.
Who's wife? Yes.
From 1900 to 1922,
the radio networks were scrambling to finda way to monetize their programing.
Sound familiar? Hint, hint. YouTube.
It wasn't until Bell Telephone Company,a parent company of AT&T, produced
the first radio advertisement in 1922that radio figured out how to make money.
(07:00):
This is long distance.
I'd like to put in a call to my homein Brooklyn, New York.
The number is Beachwood 2028. Certainly.
I will try to get it for you.
Flash forward 100 years and we've seenthis pattern of where's the money?
Repeat itself first in radio, then on TV,
and then internet and streaming networkslearned how to become profitable.
(07:22):
Now it's the
evolution into voice first technologythat has our attention.
The beauty and power of voicefirst technology is that it
takes on the primary principle of radio.
However, the internaland external packaging of voice
tech is much more advanced.
So what is voice first?
Technology?
(07:42):
Voice first
technology is the transmission of messagesthrough sound.
Voice first is utilized through interfaceslike smart speakers, voice assistants
in cars and homes, wearables, hearables,and other smart technology.
One of the reasons that these new voicefirst
technologies haven't been fully adoptedor realized is that marketers
think that it's a replacement for videoand other visual devices.
(08:06):
They don't want to take the chance onsomething replacing phones or computers.
They don't see soundmarketing as a realistic replacement.
It is important to note that voice
technologyis not a replacement of visual modality.
It is an enhancement to it.
Phones are way too functional to gothe way of Laserdisc.
(08:29):
They are not going anywhere.
Our phones serve too much functionality
for any inventionto realistically replace them.
Sound in marketing creates the opportunityfor a multimodal experience.
For those not familiar with that word.
Multimodal basically equatesto being usable in more and more ways
with voice and sound.
(08:49):
We have a unique opportunityto create an enhancement
to the content that we alreadyhave established in our brand.
Adding sound to sight experiences
only strengthensthe brand's sensory perception.
What does that mean?
Sound makes your brand one
fifth more human minded.
Marketing through sound is simplybeing creative with smart technology.
(09:11):
For instance, what about that Alexa skillyou stumbled on?
It teaches you how to do a ten minutemeditation before breakfast.
To set your mind right for the day ahead.
What about the narrative
radio show about a scientist who travelsto Mars and discovers a colony of Martians
(09:35):
that have been studying human beingsby watching repeats of Seinfeld? (mouth popping intro to show)
What about an app
that changes the sound of your voiceinto a favorite Looney Tunes character?
To leave silly and probablynonsensical messages for bored friends
a few states away. (silly music playing)
(09:58):
These examples
are only scraping the surface of howa brand could be marketing through sound.
Seriously, the possibilities are endless.
So here's literallythe million dollar question.
Where's the money?
Why even spend the timeexploring marketing through sound?
Who created the meditation skill?
(10:19):
Maybe a yoga studiothat wanted to remain front of mind to you
till you can make it down the streetand sign up for some lessons.
Who told the Martian story?
Maybe it was a network that had a script,but not the budget to produce it
yet as a TV show.
So they worked it into a radioshow to get their content out.
Who made the app?
A brilliant companythat markets to people working from home.
(10:42):
Way more.
When the consumer is hooked
on the app itself,more products can be easily introduced.
All of these examplescould fit easily into a sales funnel.
Attention, interest.
Desire and action.
Once marketing is done right,the money will come.
Look closelyat what is out there in the sound space.
(11:03):
There is more to soundthan what initially meets the ear.
Audio content is created for engagement,entertainment, and reliability.
The result is for the customer to invitethe brand into their living room.
They're enjoying themselves,they're engaged,
and if you're doing your job correctly,they're remembering who brought them.
(11:24):
Those happy moments.
And they'll call on you again.
Digital audio advertising revenue grew
58% to $4.9 billion in 2021.
Podcast adsare the most recalled type of ad.
According to a 2021 survey,86% of respondents
(11:44):
said they remember seeingor hearing a podcast ad.
56% of listeners said they would recommenda product or service to others
after hearing an advertisementon a podcast they regularly listened to.
And this is not surveyingthe more creative content end of things.
It just so happens that ad spends are justa tad easier to track and measure.
(12:05):
Innovation, creativity, relating
and engaging with our audiencein a more hands on way.
This is how I believe we should be
marketing to our consumers now and after.
Covid 19 is a distant memory.Within all this.
Specifically,
there is an opportunity to truly captivatean audience with sound in marketing.
(12:26):
So how can we turn that audienceinto our brand champions?
We need to take full advantageof this time of rebuilding
stats and buyer personasto focus on creativity and ingenuity.
This is the time to act on and implementthose projects (music playing)
we've held off on in the pastthat we weren't totally sure about.
(12:48):
Now is the time to learn and growwithin new parameters and circumstances.
Create new experiences for ourselvesand our consumers and patrons.
I came across this great quotefrom Anastasia Shcherbakova.
While in regular times,innovating is optional.
During a crisis,the necessity of evolving is crucial,
(13:09):
urgent and vital.
Within this creative process.
Please consider sound.
Soundcreation in marketing is groundbreaking.
And the best part- not yet fully realized.
There's a lot of opportunityto win and win
big in sound.
Thank you to Pixabay sound effects,
(13:29):
oldradioworld.comand NPR for the great sound bites.
If you liked the musicand the sonic logos, those were mine.
Love the idea of sound in marketing,but don't know where to start.
I've got you covered.
Come on over to Sound in marketing.com.
I've got tons of resources,courses, ebooks and connections.
I also offer sound strategyconsulting and sonic branding
(13:51):
sound designthrough my company Dreamr Productions.
All links will be provided in the show.Notes.
Let's make this world of soundmore intriguing, more unique, and more
and more on brand.
Welcome to 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 educate individualsand brands
on the power of sound in marketing.
This season will be a culminationof thoughts and theories and musings that I’ve
formed over my years of experiencein sonic branding and sound marketing.
(00:27):
If the content in these episodesinspire actionable
ideas for your company,don't hesitate to give me a call.
This is what I do,and this is what I know.
I make sound on purpose.
All contact info will be providedin the show notes.
Now on to the show.
This episode we'll be talkingabout marketing past Covid.
(00:49):
Marketing through soundwas given its truest opportunity
after the most negative thing could havehappened to our global community.
This is truly an unprecedented situation.
This virus doesn't discriminate.
It attacks everyone.
I want every American to be preparedfor the hard days that lie ahead.
The coronavirus has changed lifeas we know it across America.
(01:09):
Covid 19, the coronavirusdid a lot of heavy hitting.
In fact,the repercussions are most definitely
still in effectand will be for many more years.
I'm sure it's increased our anxietyfor the future
of our businessesand the economy of the world.
Recession or no recession?
We all know it could be better.
(01:33):
What will our
bottomline be when all of this blows over?
How much should we spend on advertisingand marketing for our brands
during this time of financial uncertainty?
How do we keep our sales numbers upwhen people aren't spending
like they used to?
And in fact, changingwhat they spend their money on entirely.
(01:53):
What once was normal is no more.
We need to move onand build on a new normal.
In the past,marketers have relied heavily on data.
They've drawn up their statisticson typical spends and routines
of white male aged 34or Hispanic female, age 56.
They market to these well thought out,well-researched demographics of people
(02:17):
that buy their goodsand request their services.
However, our buyer and consumerdata is now outdated.
What once was a spend is now a windowshop.
Routines have been altered and evolved.
The buyer persona is new.
All of us experienced 2020 differently.
But let me paint my perspectiveto assist with my point.
(02:43):
On March 20th, 2020,
California became the first stateto officially be on lockdown.
However, in Los Angeles County,where I was,
the closures started about a week before.
People who generally had an hourand a half to two hour
(03:05):
one way commutefrom the Inland Empire to Santa Monica.
(Seriously, you guys) were now at home.
Massive conferences
and festivalslike NAB and SXSW
were canceled.
Studentswho used to frequent dorm hallways
and late night parties were not.
(03:27):
Shopping malls were empty, and restaurantsand breweries
were closed.
Suddenly, everyone was at home.
Some were with their family.
Some were by themselves.
Normal routines stopped.
Busy day to day life slowed to a crawl.
No one was shopping or socializinglike they used to.
No one was or everwill wash their hands like they used to.
(03:52):
2020 wasn't the time for a sell.
In fact, now isn't the time either.
Now is the time
to relearnwho our customer and consumers are,
because they're not the same peopleanymore.
In fact,even if they were the same people,
those people are not the same people.
They were pre 2020.
(04:13):
If you get what I mean,
our numbers and statsand personas are now completely obsolete.
It will take us some timeto build those back, but
in the meantime we should beinnovating our marketing strategies.
We need to get to know our consumersin a brand new way.
This is hard.
(04:33):
How can we market to someone
without ending with a sales pitch,without being intrusive or offensive?
How can we really, truly connectwith our audience
when we are a business as welland need to sell our goods and services?
We have our bottom lineto worry about too.
We know that the ad written and shotin February 2020 about the amazing,
(04:53):
luxurious experience you'll have drivinga brand new Audi is no longer relevant.
Marketing budgets
shrunk, then ballooned,then changed again.
What do we do when the way we always didthings has to change?
What can we hold on to?
What has had a proven trackrecord of engagement and authenticity
(05:15):
for over 100 years, and doesn't requirenearly the same amount of gear
and production and heavy lifting? Sound.
Radio has been king since
since it went commercial in 1900.
As of late,
it has dropped off in listenership,only to be reinvented and rebooted again.
(05:35):
Same medium,
different formats.
The concept of auditory storytellingis more relevant today than ever.
Radio used to be our main sourceof communication.
It connected us to the worldas well as local community.
Really,it was the main source of entertainment.
If you haven't experiencedany old radio land, radio shows
(05:56):
and their brilliance,let me just give you a taste.
(Playing Who’s On First Sketch) Let's see we have on the bagswe have who's on first?
What's on second?I don't know is on third.
That's what I want to find out.
I say who's on first, what's on second,I don't know’s on third.
Are you the manager?
Yes. You're going to be the coach too.
Yes. You know the fella’s name? Well, I should.Then, who's on first? Yes.
I mean, the fella’s name. Who. The guy on first. Who.
The first base man? Who. The guy playing first? Who is on first. I'm asking you.
(06:16):
Who’s on first. That's the man's name.That's who's name? Yes
Well, go ahead and tell me.That's him. That's who? Yes.
Look,, you got a first baseman?
Certainly.Who's playing first? That's right.
When you pay off the first basemanevery month, who gets the money? Every dollar of it.
All I’m trying to find out is the fella’s name on first name.Who.
The guy that gets the money. That's it.
Who gets the money. He does. Every dollar.
(06:37):
Sometimes his wife comes downand collects it.
Who's wife? Yes.
From 1900 to 1922,
the radio networks were scrambling to finda way to monetize their programing.
Sound familiar? Hint, hint. YouTube.
It wasn't until Bell Telephone Company,a parent company of AT&T, produced
the first radio advertisement in 1922that radio figured out how to make money.
(07:00):
This is long distance.
I'd like to put in a call to my homein Brooklyn, New York.
The number is Beachwood 2028. Certainly.
I will try to get it for you.
Flash forward 100 years and we've seenthis pattern of where's the money?
Repeat itself first in radio, then on TV,
and then internet and streaming networkslearned how to become profitable.
(07:22):
Now it's the
evolution into voice first technologythat has our attention.
The beauty and power of voicefirst technology is that it
takes on the primary principle of radio.
However, the internaland external packaging of voice
tech is much more advanced.
So what is voice first?
Technology?
(07:42):
Voice first
technology is the transmission of messagesthrough sound.
Voice first is utilized through interfaceslike smart speakers, voice assistants
in cars and homes, wearables, hearables,and other smart technology.
One of the reasons that these new voicefirst
technologies haven't been fully adoptedor realized is that marketers
think that it's a replacement for videoand other visual devices.
(08:06):
They don't want to take the chance onsomething replacing phones or computers.
They don't see soundmarketing as a realistic replacement.
It is important to note that voice
technologyis not a replacement of visual modality.
It is an enhancement to it.
Phones are way too functional to gothe way of Laserdisc.
(08:29):
They are not going anywhere.
Our phones serve too much functionality
for any inventionto realistically replace them.
Sound in marketing creates the opportunityfor a multimodal experience.
For those not familiar with that word.
Multimodal basically equatesto being usable in more and more ways
with voice and sound.
(08:49):
We have a unique opportunityto create an enhancement
to the content that we alreadyhave established in our brand.
Adding sound to sight experiences
only strengthensthe brand's sensory perception.
What does that mean?
Sound makes your brand one
fifth more human minded.
Marketing through sound is simplybeing creative with smart technology.
(09:11):
For instance, what about that Alexa skillyou stumbled on?
It teaches you how to do a ten minutemeditation before breakfast.
To set your mind right for the day ahead.
What about the narrative
radio show about a scientist who travelsto Mars and discovers a colony of Martians
(09:35):
that have been studying human beingsby watching repeats of Seinfeld? (mouth popping intro to show)
What about an app
that changes the sound of your voiceinto a favorite Looney Tunes character?
To leave silly and probablynonsensical messages for bored friends
a few states away. (silly music playing)
(09:58):
These examples
are only scraping the surface of howa brand could be marketing through sound.
Seriously, the possibilities are endless.
So here's literallythe million dollar question.
Where's the money?
Why even spend the timeexploring marketing through sound?
Who created the meditation skill?
(10:19):
Maybe a yoga studiothat wanted to remain front of mind to you
till you can make it down the streetand sign up for some lessons.
Who told the Martian story?
Maybe it was a network that had a script,but not the budget to produce it
yet as a TV show.
So they worked it into a radioshow to get their content out.
Who made the app?
A brilliant companythat markets to people working from home.
(10:42):
Way more.
When the consumer is hooked
on the app itself,more products can be easily introduced.
All of these examplescould fit easily into a sales funnel.
Attention, interest.
Desire and action.
Once marketing is done right,the money will come.
Look closelyat what is out there in the sound space.
(11:03):
There is more to soundthan what initially meets the ear.
Audio content is created for engagement,entertainment, and reliability.
The result is for the customer to invitethe brand into their living room.
They're enjoying themselves,they're engaged,
and if you're doing your job correctly,they're remembering who brought them.
(11:24):
Those happy moments.
And they'll call on you again.
Digital audio advertising revenue grew
58% to $4.9 billion in 2021.
Podcast adsare the most recalled type of ad.
According to a 2021 survey,86% of respondents
(11:44):
said they remember seeingor hearing a podcast ad.
56% of listeners said they would recommenda product or service to others
after hearing an advertisementon a podcast they regularly listened to.
And this is not surveyingthe more creative content end of things.
It just so happens that ad spends are justa tad easier to track and measure.
(12:05):
Innovation, creativity, relating
and engaging with our audiencein a more hands on way.
This is how I believe we should be
marketing to our consumers now and after.
Covid 19 is a distant memory.Within all this.
Specifically,
there is an opportunity to truly captivatean audience with sound in marketing.
(12:26):
So how can we turn that audienceinto our brand champions?
We need to take full advantageof this time of rebuilding
stats and buyer personasto focus on creativity and ingenuity.
This is the time to act on and implementthose projects (music playing)
we've held off on in the pastthat we weren't totally sure about.
(12:48):
Now is the time to learn and growwithin new parameters and circumstances.
Create new experiences for ourselvesand our consumers and patrons.
I came across this great quotefrom Anastasia Shcherbakova.
While in regular times,innovating is optional.
During a crisis,the necessity of evolving is crucial,
(13:09):
urgent and vital.
Within this creative process.
Please consider sound.
Soundcreation in marketing is groundbreaking.
And the best part- not yet fully realized.
There's a lot of opportunityto win and win
big in sound.
Thank you to Pixabay sound effects,
(13:29):
oldradioworld.comand NPR for the great sound bites.
If you liked the musicand the sonic logos, those were mine.
Love the idea of sound in marketing,but don't know where to start.
I've got you covered.
Come on over to Sound in marketing.com.
I've got tons of resources,courses, ebooks and connections.
I also offer sound strategyconsulting and sonic branding
(13:51):
sound designthrough my company Dreamr Productions.
All links will be provided in the show.Notes.
Let's make this world of soundmore intriguing, more unique, and more
and more on brand.
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