Audio Branding

“A lot of folks start businesses and they just kind of look at what's hot right now, like, ‘we're going to start like a bitcoin’ or ‘we're going to start a mobile gaming company’ when that was popular, or whatever, and I think I can tell you from starting a business and growing it to twenty-six people, if you're not in love with the thing that you're doing it's going to be super-duper hard to get through it....

“And I parked my car, I jumped out of the car, and this happy dog is springing around, and I laid down on the sidewalk because I know that they want submissive approaches. So I sat down and then I laid down, and then kind of did stuff so he’d come over and sniff me, and then I lightly grabbed the pup named Jazz, which was funny, and right as I was, like, laying on the sidewalk sprawled out, sprawled out like I’d just been hit in th...

“It was one of those like 'this is what I wanted, wow, this is Johnny Fever, this is radio, and then it, kind of honestly, it quickly declined after that, because of, you know, changes and Napster recording things, stealing things, and the DJ really, um, for the companies I worked with, lost their importance to the corporate creative team, which was a real disappointment. I mean, there’s nothing worse than getting into somethin...

“Think about the young college student, first year in college. Most people have to stay in the dormitory, and whenever they do, right next to their bed is their nightstand, which actually, probably, is a mini fridge. And so, as they're leaning up against their pillow with a nightlight on from their nightstand, there is a compressor and a motor that causes this hum and vibration which the body not only feels but hears. And so yo...

“And so many people don’t pay attention to the sound that they are exposing themselves to. And, like, whenever you go to, I want to say, a large restaurant, high action, high volume, and you have to yell at the person next to you, and you have to yell your order to the server. And then finally, whenever you walk outside of the restaurant, you're finished, grab hold of yourself, you feel better because all that noise is gone. Bu...

“Audio has this very interesting quality of embedding itself in your head. We all know about those earworms: 'oh gosh I can't stop singing this song.' Imagine you have a nice jingle, it's a way for the brand to get into the heads of folks, I'm not saying that's a good thing necessarily, but that's an indication of the power of audio, where it just goes in. Now, let's not forget all of us, all human b...

“But often, and this is fairly universal when I talk to people, whether they’re individuals or businesses, is, on one hand, anyone with an iPhone can pick up and start a podcast. There's a very low barrier to entry, which is fantastic. And, like most things when you get into it, it’s a little more complicated than you originally thought.” -- Jenn Dudley

For those of you that may not know, I host regular weekly Clubhouse rooms o...

“We always start at the same place, you know, we do not throw color against the wall. Meaning it's a non-execution-driven process. Execution-driven is 'let's get the ten best music companies in the world and then each produces a sonic logo, and then we'll pick one and then implement that globally, and then we're done, check.' And that is completely, that's the old world. The new world is 'let's d...

“And what's interesting is the agency usually comes back and says 'this is amazing, how did you... this sounds, like, better than our music productions! This is, like, so authentic! This has grip! This seems like the Beatles in the garage!' And I said 'that's what every agency guy wants.' They want to find the Beatles in the garage, or Coldplay, or U2, or whatever, and be able to say 'I was the first one...

“But we did a rebranding of brands that already came from a place where they actually have worked, so we work in evolutions, in rebrandings, not just like a brand from the start. So what we try to do is keep the things that are really distinctive if they’ve already made audio branding, but evolve the last bit and try to improve it. The idea is not to destroy what’s already built, the idea is to keep building up.” -- Gabriel Agüero

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“I think that we are in a wonderful time to do audio branding because this situation where we need to educate people is a very good situation, right, because it’s something that is happening that we need to be strategic about it, and not so many brands are doing it. Right, so I think it’s a great place to be.” -- Gabriel Agüero

This episode’s guests have known each other their whole lives. Two of them were classmates in elementary ...

“We really believe that everybody out there has an X-factor to them. Everybody has something that’s unique, that stands out, and now is the time, like, one of our mottos is ‘you have a voice and it deserves to be heard.’ And you’re a storyteller and it’s time for people to share their stories, to feel really good about what they’re doing. To make more money, of course, because it’s a business, but to really enjoy life. And we’ve go...

“And I’m mixing for a hundred thousand people and I’m like ‘this is the biggest show I’ve ever mixed,’ and I went to the systems tech and I said ‘look, I’ve done arenas, I’m comfortable with arenas, but this is really intimidating.’ And he said ‘don’t worry about it, we have the system time-aligned. If it sounds great in front of house where you are, it’s gonna sound great everywhere.’ And once I realized that the science behind it...

This is the third episode of a three-part series about sonic tactics, and it's been quite a journey. So far, I've talked about how animals use sound in the wild, from spiders doing wasp impressions to sperm whales whose calls can be deadly at close range, and how people in the past have learned to harness the power of sound on the battlefield, such as chasing off war elephants with the help of squealing pigs. We'll be t...

During my last episode about sonic tactics, I talked about the different audio strategies that animals have developed for hunting prey and escaping predators, whether they're orcas using tail slaps to stun schools of fish or moths evading a bat's sonar with their clicks. As it turns out, some of those strategies are surprisingly similar to the sound tactics we've been using on the battlefield for centuries. This week I&...

Five years ago, the first stories broke about a mysterious syndrome affecting American and Canadian diplomats in Cuba. Each case began with the victim hearing inexplicable grating sounds that people around them couldn’t detect, which then developed into headaches, hearing loss, vertigo, and even brain damage. New cases began to appear in embassies all around the world, with the most recent reports occurring just last year, and the ...

“Do you know what I think makes a compelling podcast? It’s a podcast that doesn’t sound like a podcast. And I know that’s a really goofy answer, but if it sounds like two people talking or three people talking and they’re having this conversation, that there’s a genuine back and forth of information, that’s what makes the best podcast.” -- Joe Pardavila

This episode’s the second half of my interview with radio personality, producer,...

“You have to create this environment that the person’s comfortable in, that’s a big part of it. And I don’t actually like to use the word interview, especially when I coach people or advise people who are starting podcasts. You don't ever want to use the word ‘interview’ because interview implies question answer, question answer, question answer, whereas a conversation is a back and forth, it’s people sharing ideas.”-- Joe Pard...

“When you hear that person on the other end, you can put yourself, as a prospective client, you put yourself in their shoes. You hear what their thought process was and you feel connected to that person, you understand exactly what their struggles are because I have the same concerns, I have the same hesitations, and that's very impactful.”-- Nora Sudduth

This episode continues my interview with marketing and conversion strateg...