Topics include…
1927: The Real Birth of the Cool
A brief (and otherwise secret) history of sans serif typeface
What We Still Don’t Know
How to pick out a peach
One day Robert Duncan went insane
A Contemporary Idea of Justice
Donut Eating Contest by Voodoo Donuts
10 Lessons of a Bicycle Delivery Soupman

…A night of 20 different 3-minute speeches on a hugely wide variety of
topics. Like no other lecture series you’ve been to.

Interesting Portland, April 9, 2009, Norse Hall Get tickets.

See you at the show. In addition to presenting my own 3-minute surprise, I’ll be working the door or the floor, so be sure to introduce yourself. Looking forward to it.

– Noel Franus

• 97% of brands believe that music and sound can strengthen their brand.
• 41% believe it can do this by building a consistent image of their brand.
• 27% believe it can help make their offer unique from competitors.

I’m going to take a second to follow up on that. The obvious conclusion (stated so well by writer Charlie Moran) is that sonic branding and audio identity is “worth a hell of a lot more money than you put in, because it’ll be fortifying what you’ve already got.” For the most part, he’s referring to television and the agencies working with tv. Which is a sensible starting point.

But wait. There’s more. Peel back the onion and you’ll see that in every global brand, right now at this moment, decisions are being made about music and sound that have nothing to do with television or catchy jingles. For example:

• A facilities and maintenance manager in suburban Dallas is selecting the background music for a corporate briefing center, sales area, or other customer-facing space—spaces devoted to the generation of revenue.
• A phone-systems integration manager outside of Boston is choosing the music and voices that millions of conference-callers will hear when they dial into virtual meetings. Meetings with captive, often influential audiences.
• A programmer/developer in India is hurriedly selecting the blips and bleeps that will be a core part of his/her company’s mobile devices.
• A marketing team in EMEA is outsourcing the selection of music (walk-ons, background tracks, demo audio) for their annual 20,000-person event to a company that’s also responsible for such things as food and Powerpoint creation.

What guidance will you give them? How prepared are you to get them jazzed about the brand? Who’s funding their operations? Who do they report to? Why should they care?

Been there before, as both a client and consultant. It’s never easy, but brands do live everywhere. Everyone who manages them needs the right guidance and/or tools. The same guidance that feeds mainstream media should be able to play out for many other uses as well.

Anyone who invests in, produces or directs a sonic branding or audio identity effort should keep this in mind. Treat it like a good, hardworking investment and it will perform like one.

– Noel Franus

In 2009, CMOs care very much about two things: 1) greater marketing accountability for their spending; and 2) simplified brand management across multiple platforms.

That’s what this article is intended to address. Feedback/thoughts/call-me-on-its welcome.

– Noel Franus

The idea behind Interesting is simple: an evening of 20 interesting people each talking about something they love/hate/do/did/know/care about/obsess over.

We want to replicate the experience of clicking from one really good blog to another, ranging haphazardly across culture, sciences, arts, crafts, technology, whatever.

But with the added benefit of direct contact in a relaxed, conversational setting. The only requirement is that each presentation be either 3 or 10 minutes long.

Past Interestings include London, Sydney, Amsterdam…

Tix available now. We’re on the hunt for speakers, too. You’ll find all the details here: http://interestingportland.com/

See you in April.

– Noel Franus

The idea: sonic branding and audio identity can and should be about creating intellectual property—protectable assets that grow in value over time. (Think NBC, McDonald’s, Intel, etc.)

As a cheat-sheet for you, I’ve identified four questions that any brand organization, large or small, local, national or global, can ask to begin creating that capital right away.

1. What is your return on music and sound today? Most companies spend millions and expect nothing in return…which creates the mindset that this is a cost, not really an investment.

2. Do you sound as unique as you are? Great brands inspire us. They solve problems, they make meaning. Yet most brands sound alike: generically upbeat, harmlessly acceptable and usually…forgettable.

3. What’s your emotional identity? How can/should you use music and sound to unleash the otherwise unexpressed emotional DNA of your brand?

4. How elastic is your brand? If you really want your brand’s sound identity to thrive everywhere it lives, ensure that it’s flexible enough to stretch, twist and grow across multiple touchpoints, markets and cultures.

And there you have it. I should mention that at Sonic ID we’ve used this framework successfully for our clients. Of course you’re free to do your own thing, too, and if that works for you then I’d probably enjoy hearing your story.

Happy reading,

– Noel Franus