Staxx Williams (Creative Services Director, Z100, USA) kicks off with the idea that sonic scenery can enhance a message as he runs through the imaging and jingles they use at Z100 in the USA. Staxx talks about branding in today’s continuously evolving mediascape and tells us: “You can use sound to tell a story and enhance your brand.”
Steven Lemmens (Imaging Director, Studio Brussel, Belgium) asked how can we make people listen longer? In an attempt to address this, Studio Brussel understood the importance of sonic branding and created simple jingles to accompany everything and anything. In any normal hour, Studio Brussels jingles could be used up to 22 hours. Steven’s perspective on this: “No-one ever tells me they are tired of it, they actually sing it back to me”
Matt Fisher (Lead Imaging Producer, BBC Radio 1, UK) talked us through the exciting use of sound imaging across BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and the Asian Network. He described the evolution of sound at Radio 1 over the years, and played an example from last year’s 50th anniversary. Explaining the BBC’s use of binaural and live imaging he concluded “We are really focusing on live content and the sonic journey – and it is working!”
All speakers agreed that seeking inspiration from other stations’ imagery is a good thing, but copying like for like is obviously not. Matt said: “Be inspired by other stations, then think about how this can be manipulated for yours.”
