How have radio jingles changed? Prolark Media’s Lee Price is sure: more than you might think. But one thing is certain – they haven’t lost any of their importance. On a date, Price was asked what kind of music he likes to listen to “And for some reason I decided to say that I quite like to listen to radio jingles.”
For Marc Vickers, Composer at Wisebuddah & No Sheet Music, finding the essence of a pop song and squeezing it down into a radio jingle is the art of sonic branding. He thinks the dream of every jingle creator is to have their tunes become an earworm. According to Vickers, the best way to achieve that is emotion. If a song feels right for the audience, a jingle created from that song is much more likely to succeed.
Brandy’s Creative Director Tom Van der Biest explained his process in creating jingles after playing a few examples. For him, a jingle needs to be based on a well-known tune, while still featuring its own twist to make it stand out. For the listener, a jingle needs to feel as simple as possible, however hard that is to achieve for producers.
Thomas Giger, Partner at PURE Jingles, puts importance on making jingles stand out on their own, even if the station’s vibe usually wouldn’t support that. Austrias Radio Vorarlberg broadcasts hits from the 70s and 80s, but Giger made sure that their sonic branding still sounds modern. “Jingles need to change, even if the music doesn’t”.
Sometimes however, creating jingles can be a bit challenging. Especially if the radio station differs from the “norm”. Marc Vickers gave examples of working for dutch Sky Radio, a station with no hosts. As the station only broadcasts music, advertisements and jingles, having memorable sonic branding becomes incredibly important to impact the identity of the station. Opposed to that, the BBC’s Radio 2 is very focused on their radio hosts, with every jingle having to represent the style and energy of their respective hosts.
The talk ended with Thomas Giger’s most important tip: “If you want to make a statement, it doesn’t always have to be big and bold.”
