It’s been a bit quiet here for a while. The main reason is that right now we are finishing finishing the final edits of the book “Sounds like branding” published by Norstedts publishing house, Sweden in mid-March.
For all you english speakers there will be a beta version released around the same time as an audio book on Spotify as well as a limited edition (250 copies) 7″ vinyl…we will give you all details of this in the new year.
A workshop on how to build a successful strategy to interest brands
(or how to sell out without selling out…)
MIDEM, Cannes Monday 25 January
4.00pm to 5.00pm
In the future, music will be free and artists will get paid for it. What is changing is what is being paid for and how. At this Heartbeats workshop we will unveil the essential steps for artists, labels and the live entertainment sector to successfully attract attention from brands and secure a career in the new music economy.
How to define your assets in the best way, identify your band/festival’s identity, package & present yourself to a brand, build a connection with it, monitor success…these are key factors for success to be discussed, together with best case practices on the ones that are doing it in the right way. All questions are welcome!
Brands and bands have been bedfellows for generations, sometimes uncomfortably. We speak to Sarah Tinsley from our Heartbeats network to find out how we can de-risk working with music by applying a more rigorous insight and planning process.
Sorry for the silence. We did some recordings of fun and interesting sound and music experiences this week in Tokyo. First out our own little pachinko experience. So is this the market place of tomorrow? How do you wake them up? More movies coming up this week.
When in Tokyo I recommend a visit to a ‘Pachinko hall’. It’s a type of game hall with vending machines and a games called ‘Pachinko’. The sound wave when entering is shocking - your senses are literally bombarded by flashing lights, spinning wheels and hysteric techno music. What fascinates me is that the people don’t pay any attention to all the noise and flashing lights anymore but just sit quietly playing their game. They have become numb and have learnt how to screen out all the messages and focus on their interest.
The Pachinko halls work as a metaphor for today’s market place. More and more brands compete for our attention but we pay less attention to them. Statistics show that more than 20 000 new brands are launched every year but only a few survive the two first years. Research tells us that we are confronted with more than 2500 advertising messages on a daily basis, but only remember around 8% of them. An ANC Nielsen study shows that we only remember in an average of two of the advertisements we’ve seen in a day.
In a reality that increasingly resembles Tokyo, the need to differentiate your brand and take a unique and exclusive position in the mind of your audience is more important then ever. Sound and music here play a great role especially as a tool to create consistency in how the brand sounds on the different platforms of contact with the customer. A sonic identity can be created (an audio version of the graphic identity) that defines how the brand sounds and this is then activated as a sound logotype, in-store music program, presentations and hold music. In this way you can hold the customers’ attention also when they are not looking your way and create a more unique brand experience and exclusivity.
There is of course a reason why Coca-cola has worked with sonic branding for more than 20 years, and everyone recognises McDonalds ‘Da da da da dah, I’m loving it‘. Research from Dr Adrian North of Leicester University shows that it’s working; brands with music in their brand identity are 96% more likely to be recalled then those without (or non-fitting music).
Be sure to check out this year’s European advertising festival Eurobest in Amsterdam 25-27 November. Many interesting speakers, seminars and people. Heartbeats International will host an exclusive workshop on the 25th, outlining the principles of music branding and the future to come. See you there?
