Here are the first five advices to sound branding management in your company. It’s not rocket science, nor ground breaking revelations, but it is none the less things that some company still overlook or downgrade. So it cant hurt to repeat it again!
Get it right the first time
Find a sound branding company that has developed methods to control the creative development phase and standardized, objective tools to develop the music that fit your specific brand. A sound branding company should be able to document how they create the music from your brand input. It could be on the base of corporate values, a corporate vision, brand associations, a specific feeling or sensation etc.
Go beyond personal preferences
Decision should be based on objective information such as test results. Avoid discussions of personal preferences by testing the sound samples before making a decision on the final version. Tests could be brand-sound fit, association congruency, emotional profiling, sound-brand personality perception etc. But, pay attention to gut-feelings. Not everything that works can be measured, music touches emotions and sometimes it is not possible to explain why it is right/wrong.
Control the implementation process
Choose a sound branding company who provides Sound manuals. It’s a way to document the choices made in the process, visualize the project to other involved parties e.g. within the company and manage the sound cogently. A sound manual should minimum include a description of the creative development phase, a description of the music and how should sound like in the different touch points (e.g. in commercials, online, in telephone systems etc.) and who the responsible person(s) for the sound branding is(are). One could also include; situations where/if it is allowed to make music variations, and when and how it should be measured and benchmarked.
Be a big-spender, it will pay of
As with all things with quality and high value: It costs money. If you want music to be cheap, you will get cheap music. Customers are critical but not ignorant when it comes to estimating quality; they will sense the difference. Of course price and resources invested should match the level of ambition.
Educate your employees
Music can be hard to “grasp” and not everyone in the company may support it. Music will never be successfully implemented if it never gets out. Be sure to create support internally and educate them in how they can use the music in the touch points they are working in. For example if music is implemented in retail remember that the staff is going to listen more to the music than the customers. Involve them and turn into music-ambassadors.
ps. Please leave comments - Im interested in your opinion and feedback about the five advices!
You are so right ... I would say, that it is also very important to include ad agency, digital bureau etc. in the process, so all collaborators knows, who is doing what? and why.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to read your next five advices.
Harmonic Regards
Karsten KJems