Audio branding can be essential in differentiating your event brand from the rest. So don’t miss this opportunity and start applying it today. This article will show you how.
Nature sounds. Jazz trumpets. Lounge music.
More and more businesses and public personas are trying to differentiate themselves through audio branding, a new marketing trend that is here to stay.
Considering the success podcasts have had in the last few years, the “voice” has become as relevant as the visual and video sectors in defining the identity of a company or name.
So what exactly is this audio branding, and why is it so important nowadays?
As Gary Vaynerchuk argues,
“Audio and streaming in particular has increased massively in popularity with the emergence of Alexa and Google Home. And it’s super clear to me that this is just the beginning.”
He also highlights,
“Sonic branding is about how your brand sounds and how it gets recalled or remembered — like the little jingle in the beginning of video games or the sound when you boot up your computer. It’s about to become dramatically more important for every single brand.”
The same way we’ll forever remember the Windows or Intel sounds, different brands have the opportunity to experiment with this rediscovered marketing technique and differentiate themselves from the rest.
Gary Vaynerchuk is using audio brandingin his videos.
How is this relevant for the events industry?
Well, think about it … Let’s say you’re running multiple annual events that are part of the same brand or name.
Wouldn’t you want to distinguish yourself through audio branding?
After all, as Vaynerchuk notes,
“Normally, to capture the attention of the end consumer, cement your brand identity in their mind, or stimulate recall. You’d have to run a 10, 15, or 30 second advertisement on a relevant channel to capture their attention. But sound is incredibly powerful because of the speed at which you can capture your audience’s attention and ‘cement’ your brand in their mind.”
Here’s how you can do it:
Promotional videos
Obviously, you’ll be promoting your events. Sometimes, you’ll be experimenting with short videos that will explain what exactly your attendees will get from your event. Why not take advantage of this opportunity and insert a two-second sound at the beginning of your promotional video?
In-situ experience
Audio branding shouldn’t be present only in your online communications with potential attendees. You can easily use it while running the event. You can play the sound before different sessions or specific presentations. Also, you can associate your brand sound with different event activities or even the end of group dynamics.
Social media videos
A big space where you can use audio branding to differentiate your event from the rest is the social media platform. In this case, you can generate very short videos from the event (snippets, quick interviews, entertainment activities, etc.) and publish them on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn (depending where your public hangs out), adding the specific sound that identifies your brand.
Event animations
Apart from videos you can produce pre-, during, or post-event animations reflecting different aspects of the attendance or even presenting the subjects that will be or are tackled during different sessions. The audio print of your event brand will go perfectly at the beginning of the animation.
Podcasts with experts
Audio branding works perfectly with podcasts. So if you’re planning a series of podcasts with your event speakers or industry leaders who’ll be attending the event, don’t forget to introduce the sound that marks your brand.
Event videos
If you want to extend the reach and impact of your event, you’ll be publishing videos, reflecting how much your attendees enjoyed themselves while attending different sessions. The audio element can’t be missing from these videos.
Content videos
Finally, if you care about spreading the knowledge and insights that were generated during your event, you’ll be publishing videos from the event sessions or the speaker panels. Moreover, you might want to create multiple interview videos with the industry leaders (the same way as the podcasts), discussing those topics that are interesting for your attendees and overall audience. Your event sound should accompany those videos, too.
What should you do next?
Now that we’ve convinced you about the practicality of this simple, yet efficient marketing trick, start thinking about creating a sound that defines your brand.
You can do that with the help of your team, or you can even engage the services of an audio branding studio (yes, they exist). So wait no more and find your sound.
