In decades past when most marketers hadn’t even heard of the Internet, much less thought of using it for advertising, the vast majority of marketing budgets went toward television commercials. Even today most of us can think back on some famous commercials, and what comes to mind? Catch phrases like, “where’s the beef” or jingles like, “plop plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is.
Even if you can’t picture the exact content of the commercial, the audio seems to stay with us and that is what international marketing firm, Heartbeat, wrote about in the book, “Sounds Like Branding.”
The book brings up the point that in today’s online world many marketers are not properly harnessing the power of audio in their advertisements. This may be because of the fact that up until the point where most people had high speed internet, audio ads were simply not practical. People go in the habit of using text to drive their point, and it has been quite effective for many people. In fact, blogging and posting on social media sites is rapidly growing as one of the most effective ways to bring in new customers.
Of course, video marketing has also become extremely popular over the past several years but many experts believe that the audio in these videos is often not given the attention it deserves. Generations of marketers have known that even things as minor as the pitch of the music or the tone of voice used in an advertisement can have a major impact on the overall effectiveness of the campaign. With this in mind, marketers would be wise to start putting in more time, thought and energy into the audio of their advertisements.
If you’re hiring someone to do a voice over on an advertisement, don’t just find the first person with a smooth voice. Take the time to look at the target audience. Would they be more comfortable hearing your message from a man or a women? Older or younger? Even the accent of the voice over actor can have a big impact. While it does take a lot more work, the rewards can be incredible.
If we can look at the success of advertisements with catchy audio in the past as any indication, the marketers who take their audio seriously can have a big advantage over those who consider it an afterthought.
What about you? Do you use audio in your marketing? If so, how much time do you spend making sure it is perfect for your audience?
