August 08, 2005
Blog Entry

The Brave New(ish) World of Audio Logos & Podcasting

SUMMARY: No summary available.
by Anne Holland, President

Like just about every other online publisher out there, we're considering launching a podcast. (A podcast is a sort of audio blog - an Internet radio show that listeners can tune in to from their computers or download to their iPods. Link to more info below.)

I've been super-itchy to launch a Sherpa podcast since last winter ... but aside from our already insane schedule growing Sherpa, I've held back because we don't have an audio logo yet.

An audio logo (AKA 'sound identity' or 'sound logo') is that little bit of music that you hear at the start of a TV show, or branded radio show, or even a brand jingle played in advertisements. In just a few seconds, the listener hears the personality of the brand. And, since it's audio, your musical logo can actually have greater marketplace impact than any graphic logo ever does. Audio has more of a *gut* impact than many visuals do.

I started researching audio logo makers and discovered there are some firms who create sound identities for big consumer packaged goods companies. They run focus groups, do loads of research and you'll end up paying tens of thousands for a tidbit of sound. But it's higher impact than another tidbit of sound would be.

However, there wasn't anyone out there who created tidbits for wanna-be podcasters who need an audio logo to start and end podcasts with. So I called my friends at Audible.com who are iPod sound experts and asked them to recommend a few composers.

Enter Michael Whalen. He's an independent film score composer who's worked a lot for PBS and National Geographic. I loved the clips on his site. So, I bugged him -- would he consider starting a podcasting logo division for folks like me with reasonable (aka limited) budgets? Definitely yes! Michael has launched it. You'll find a link to his new podcasting logos site below.

Over the next 60 days I'll bring you notes on the whole process of how we'll go about creating the podcast and companion audio logo. Plus you'll get to vote on which logo you like the best.

I'm so excited!

BTW: No, I'm not getting any sort of kickback for mentioning Michael. I'm just honestly enthusiastic and thought you'd be, too.

Six useful links related to this blog

Michael Whalen's new Podcasting Logos site: http://podcastinglogos.com

About Michael Whalen: http://www.michaelwhalen.com

Podcast inventor Adam Curry's site for podcasting wanna-bes: http://www.ipodder.org

American Music Center's 'On Hold' program inspired by famed sound logo creator Eric Siday: http://www.amc.net/grants/Siday

MarketingSherpa Article: 7 Marketing Tips for Podcasts, Blog Ads, and RSS Feeds http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=3042 (Open access until Aug 11)

Anne's second column on this topic: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=3064 (Open access)

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