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Sonic Branding: Make Six Figures With Three Notes |
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 Making
money in the music industry is much more than Platinum selling
hits and Grammy awards. There's a lot of money to be made, though less glamorous, by applying the artistic skills used for songwriting and producing to developing what are called "sonic brands." |
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| To make sure that cattle can be identified as their property, livestock owners use a hot iron to burn a letter or some other insignia into the hide. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Advertisers do the same thing to make sure the public can identify their goods and services. Corporate logos, slogans, and catchy jingles are all methods for creating a brand. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The problem is that these methods are losing their effectiveness in catching the attention of consumers. Remote controls make it easy for viewers to channel-surf past all the commercials and scan buttons achieve the same result with radio. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In addition, the growing internationalization of commerce also makes it difficult for brands to work well across different nations, languages, and cultures. "Nova," for example, didn't do so well for Chevrolet as a brand name in Mexico and other Latin American nations. Why? Because "no va" is Spanish for "it doesn't go." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| But strong musical hooks and production, which are the ingredients of a hit song, can come to an advertiser's aid. After all, we remember a hit song chiefly because of its hook -- usually the chorus. And although the lyrics can be hard to remember or to decipher, we can instantly recall the melody. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Some years ago, I remember how one of New York City's biggest Top 40 radio stations conducted an interesting survey, much like the taste tests of Coke vs. Pepsi. To determine what songs should get the heaviest rotation, the station played a few seconds of the hook -- and only the hook -- of various songs to see which ones its test audience preferred. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sonic branding works the same way. It's a musical "jingle" distilled to its very essence: the hook of hooks. Those who are adept at these songwriting and production skills can use them as a lucrative way to expand their business into this growing field. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Being musical and short -- sometimes just a few notes -- the sonic brand is easily recognizable by anyone regardless of how fast they channel-surf or scan and regardless of their nationality, language, or culture. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Intel's sonic brand consists of four notes. Yahoo's yodel has three notes. Even the clever use of timbre can become an audio logo -- think of the shout of "Sega!" or the twangy guitar in an ad for the new James Bond movie. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The marketing potential for a sonic brand is vast because it translates well to the ever-increasing variety of media such as ringtones and podcasts, which can be downloaded anywhere in the world. And those in the music industry are usually at the forefront of these new technologies. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| So, if you want to make music and make money, don't limit yourself to the usual aspiration of trying to get a record and publishing deal. Be a real artist and think outside the box. There are so many other opportunities out there. Sonic branding is just one of them. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Need someone to brainstorm with? Want your business plan reviewed for other potential markets? Need fresh ideas for marketing and developing your talents and resources? E-mail me about setting up a consultation. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Not sure yet? Have
questions about the fee or services? Email-me to arrange for a free confidential telephone appointment to get more information. |
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> invited
to The Circle,
