Branding Your Radio or TV Campaign With A Musical Identity (aka Audo Logo, aka Jingle)
You don't think twice about a business card and letterhead logo for the visual aspect of your campaign, why not an audio logo to brand your broadcast campaign?
With the magic of music you can capture the personality of your business, create an emotional connection to your target audience and get recall & branding recognition (in some instances with people tapping their feet and singing your company name) even when you are not on the air.
The majority of advertisers use the free production services that radio and TV stations offer to save money. The fact is: Most Radio and TV production departments are overworked and many are burned out. In most cases, the same person writes and reads the majority of the spots on each station, recycling old ideas and trying to change their intonation and enthusiam for each commercial. Is that really what you want for your campaign?
It's possible to seperate yourself from the clutter of bland, burned out creative that is circulating in epidemic proportions on radio and television these days. With music you can build the intensity under the voice-over copy so that the person reading your script can speak in a natural voice with the excitement building underneath. That excitement should lead into a compelling singing tag line that people look forward to hearing and will remember. The name of your business and your positioning statement... just like on your business card. Your musical identity. Maybe use it in the beginning of you spot as well?
With the aid of the internet search engine, you can find a great resource for the creation of such an identity. When seeking out the right music production house or jingle company, listen to as much of their work as possible. Compare overall quality. There are "one hit wonders" out there who may have one jingle that you like but the rest of their work is sub par. There are large jingle factories that have done some good work but are so large that you lose the personal touch and the buck tends to get passed when you want to make changes and suddenly no one is accountable. Don't gamble. Take your time and do the research. Talk to the person who will be the writer and producer and get a feel for them before you commit.
It's all about taking the time to find the right team.
Barry Volk is a former Staff Songwriter/Producer with ABC and Screen Ems/EMI Music Publishing, Musical Director for the West Coast Theater Company, National Director of Marketing for Metro Networks (A Westwood One Company). Barry is currently owner of Sound Advantage (A Musical Identity Company Since 1993).