Audio branding for the blind

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If you aren’t thinking about your audio brand, you may be missing a great opportunity to make your brand more memorable and meaningful.

My last blog was about the recent resurgence and growing importance of audio branding. If you missed it, check it out here. In the blog, I mentioned an audio branding initiative we recently completed for the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CABVI).

Audio branding for an organization that serves the blind. Sounds like a no brainer, right? But they had never done it before. And the time was right, as the agency prepared to introduce a new logo and visual identity.

First a little history on the CABVI and its brand.

The organization is a private, not-for-profit agency offering a broad range of vision rehabilitation services for people of all ages who are blind or visually impaired. It began in 1911 as the Cincinnati Association for the Welfare of the Blind.

The name has changed several times through the decades. In 2004, it became Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. But the name was found to be long and it created branding challenges. So in 2019, the board agreed to abbreviate to the acronym CABVI.

This latest change to the visual brand identity presented a perfect opportunity to introduce an audio brand element that would be linked to the new logo and make it more memorable. So we set out to create an audio mnemonic that will act as a musical memory peg with an emotional connection to the CABVI brand.

We worked with a composer to explore several options. Each consisted of five notes to represent the five characters in the acronym. But we weren’t just looking for a catchy hook. It needed to support CABVI’s brand character and core values. The creative process was driven by inspiration from words in their vision: “Empowering people who are blind or visually impaired with opportunities to seek independence.” Along with their values of compassion, hope, integrity and collaboration. As well as the sense of optimism captured in the new tagline “Building Brighter Futures for People with Vision Loss.”

Early in the process, we determined the brand would benefit greatly by including a vocal representation in the audio mnemonic. It’s especially helpful for those with vision loss to hear a verbalization of the agency name. We chose a chorus of male and female singers to sing the CABVI melody to symbolize inclusivity, collaboration and compassion. Verbalization of the logo aids memorability and brand association, while the instrumental elements provide an emotional connection.

While we experimented with a variety of different orchestrations, the final mnemonic features a solo piano to communicate simplicity, clarity and focus. A strong chord progression leads with a pair of eighth notes for a burst of energy. From there, the shape moves down and then ends with a surprising leap up to deliver a feeling of optimism and hope for a brighter future. The final note is accented with a glockenspiel, adding a touch of brightness which ties into the yellow dot on the “i” in the CABVI logo.

We provided the audio element fully mixed, instrumental only, and a capella vocal for different applications

This new audio brand was launched along with the new visual logo and is currently being used at the end of TV and radio advertising, as well as internal and external videos. There are plans to incorporate it on their website and “on-hold” phone service, too. And we continue to explore more ways to connect the visual and audio brand elements.

Over time, CABVI’s audio brand will become as much a part of their brand identity as the visual logo. They will become linked in the public’s mind, strengthening the emotional bond between CABVI, its clients and donors. It’s too soon to measure success, but the early reviews have been strong. And the value of the audio brand will only continue to grow through repetition and familiarity.

Play the :05 video clip below to hear the CABVI brand mnemonic paired with new logo animation.

How Does Your Brand Sound?

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All brands understand the importance of visual identity. Brand guidelines often dedicate multiple pages for the logo alone. But there is an equally important brand asset that is often overlooked or ignored. It’s sound.

Sonic or audio branding is a powerful tool that can be used to create mood, act as a memory peg, reinforce values and strengthen an emotional bond.

Think about how a movie score impacts your experience, or the music that’s playing in your favorite store or restaurant. It’s an important sensory element that impacts how you feel about a product or experience.

Jingles have long been a staple of advertisers. But sonic branding has evolved to include more sophisticated elements like brand mnemonics – little ear worms that burrow into your brain and remain with you throughout the day. Things like the four electronic notes that identify IT products with Intel chips inside. You get a feeling of reassurance knowing that the product is made with top quality components. Like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for your ears.

It’s the reason why whenever you hear, “We are Farmer’s,” you automatically go “Bom-ba-dom-bom, bom-bom-bom.” Or the app on your phone plays the ESPN audio brand whenever a score is updated. Auditory assets like these make the brand more memorable and help to communicate the brand’s essence to your target audience. It becomes your audio logo. And it works whether you’re watching or not. Which is super important given the multi-screen habits that has become the norm for most consumers.

Fact is, audio surrounds us every day. Not just on radio, but on TV, video, podcasts, music-streaming platforms. It’s virtually everywhere. A recent survey by Pandora found that 50% of all Americans listen to streaming audio weekly. They spend more time listening to streaming audio than they do on social networking. And it’s taking on a greater role than just entertainment.

As voice-powered personal assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Home have become part of our everyday lives, audio branding has taken on an even greater role. Juniper Research estimates about 3.25 billion voice assistants are in use today and predicts that number will grow to 8 billion in 2023. These new technologies don’t just talk at consumers, they have enabled brands to have a two-way voice dialogue with customers. It’s another opportunity to use your sonic brand to make a sensory impression that sticks with your customers.

That’s why it’s so important to develop a consistent sonic identity that can be used to create a consistent sound across everything from ads to on-hold music and the sound played at trade show booths. More and more brands are dedicating time and effort to how they sound and how their brand is heard online and beyond. If you aren’t leveraging your audio brand, you’re missing a powerful opportunity to forge a stronger emotional bond with consumers in today’s connected and voice-activated world.

 

 

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Smart Creative Requires Intelligence

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Creative people often cringe at the word. Data this, data that. Data, data, data. It’s not just a trendy marketing buzzword. It’s a building block we use to create bigger, bolder, more effective ideas.

Based on the right brain – left brain theories of old, you would expect creative types like me to run from the onslaught of data. Don’t squelch my creativity with numbers. Math sucks the life from people like me.

I’m happy to say that it’s a brand new world where data inspires us to explore new ideas and change outcomes. Our creative folks not only welcome the benefits of data. We embrace them with mind and soul. While other “right brainers” may feel constrained by data, we find it liberating.

Maybe that’s because we don’t look at data in raw form. We use what we call data intel. It requires a deep dive and analysis that often confirms an important brand truth or uncovers an actionable insight. That’s what gives data value.

When applied with empathy and insight, data intel opens new doors and frees our minds to explore more deeply. It’s this balance we strike between creativity and data that makes us unique. It’s part of our DNA, embedded in our methodology.

If your brand is data rich but you don’t have the time or energy to mine it, that’s where we come in. It’s our specialty and we thrive on intelligence.

 

 

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Brick and Mortar Isn’t Dead Yet

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Mention online shopping and the first name that comes to mind for most is Amazon. What started as an unassuming online bookstore has morphed into the world’s largest Internet-based retailer. A millennial mall of sorts. In 2015, Amazon even surpassed Walmart as the most valuable retailer in the United States.

So why is the e-commerce innovator that brought us the Kindle, Echo & Alexa, and Fire TV now expanding its strategy into brick and mortar stores? Well, it turns out that a lot of us still want to see, hold and play with items before we buy them. Anyone who has waited for an hour for an appointment at an Apple store can attest to that. And, while online shopping continues to grow at an impressive clip, as many as 90% of Americans say they still do the majority of their shopping at physical retail locations.

Smart companies are taking notice. Amazon launched its retail strategy by opening its first retail bookstore in late 2015. They are currently testing a retail c-store called Amazon Go. And this week, the company announced plans to test an electronics store that would feature their own devices.

Amazon is once again leading the industry as a growing number of internet based retailers are recognizing that a strategy mixing online and offline retail is crucial to continued growth.  But don’t expect to see Amazon stores popping up on every street corner anytime soon. The online retailer is taking it slow, testing the concepts to see which will gain the most traction with consumers.

Marketers can learn from Amazon’s vision, too. The opportunities for an all-digital strategy can be limiting. We find that our most effective campaigns utilize a strategic balance of digital, traditional and non-traditional platforms. We test. We learn. We optimize. And, like Amazon, we deliver.