Sonic Branding GOAT Joel Beckerman Breaks Down the Mechanics of His Craft; Your Creative Sucks & Why You Should Fix It; Spotify Not IAB Certified???

The world’s only podcast solely dedicated to audio ads is back with a new episode! Presenting Ad Infinitum Season 2, Episode 3 – “Branding with your Eyes Closed.”

Host Stew Redwine (Oxford Road’s VP of Creative Services) welcomes an icon whose name is so synonymous with sonic branding, he needs his own Sonic logo. Joel Beckerman is the author of Sonic Boom and Founder of Made Music, an award-winning global sonic branding agency racking up wins with every brand from Tostitos to AT&T.

“When we’re creating sonic identity systems, [the] people we’re dealing with are experts in absolutely everything in their job except this.” – Joel Beckerman, Founder of Made Music

Join Stew and Joel as they cover all the major and minor notes of sonic identity, breaking down radio heavyweights like Whole Foods, Vicks, and Xfinity.

Can’t Build a Moat around a Rented Castle – Sonic assets should be ownable. How many times have you heard a music bed that you’ve forgotten the moment the ad ended? How many times have you used tracks like that for your spots? Your brand’s important. Your sonic brand’s important. Take pride in finding a sonic identity that’s ownable and uniquely yours.
The Ham Sandwich Factor – A sonic boom moment–a sound that connects with the audience–works even when you’re in the other room making a ham sandwich. It doesn’t happen by accident or all at once. Show up sonically with intention for your audience, again and again, and you won’t have to fight for their attention.
Take out the Trash ️ – We’ve all heard ads with sonic overkill and ahem a bit TOO much? That’s called Sonic Trash–where so many sounds flood your brain, that nothing gets through. CAOs, as you figure out your sonic brand, find one key sonic element you want to highlight, and give it a chance to shine. That’s your Sonic Boom.

Want more essential insights that’ll stick with you while you’re making lunch? Catch the full episode by indulging below.

Watch Here

Listen Here: Spotify

Listen Here: Apple

The Classifieds

People Pleasers Pivot to Podcasting

If you’re palatable to everyone, you’re special to no one. Hosts Jess DeBakey and Caroline Winkler believe in this ideal more than many, which is why they’ve partnered with Brat TV for their podcast Not For Everyone. The show’s main goal is to help their audience be more introspective on what they truly want in life, and to be ok with who they are. Topics in recent episodes include; the prison of perfectionism, female friendships, and the pains inherent to self-improvement.
Mental health show content has continued to rise in popularity, especially in the podcasting space. More than ever, advertisers are finding success by showing up in places where listeners crave intimacy most. For advertisers looking to reach a younger female demographic through some simulcast testing, this is a surefire high performer. This test is not for everyone, but if it’s right for you, please engage the link below.

Get The Deal

Neuro Sees Nothing But Net

Though research shows listeners are placing their trust in podcasts more than other traditional sources, most hosts are not credentialed professionals nor experts in any given field. Voics newest show boasts impressive host: Louisa Nicola, a Neurophysiologist and consulting firm Founder. She steadfastly works to unlock her listener’s potential, also educating them on physical health. In each episode, Nicola interviews true pioneers and innovators in the world of medical science, to democratize their information, giving us the tools to do better. Episode topics are often shrouded with medical jargon, but the conversations are always approachable from an outsider’s perspective. Nicola also regularly consults with athletic organizations like the NBA, MLB, and NFL. This helps converge the worlds of health and fitness, education, self-improvement, and science. Many DR brands are reaping the rewards of sponsoring this show, especially DTC male skewing advertisers. Testing this opportunity is a no-brainer, so click below for more info.

Get The Deal

In Case You Missed It

Don’t Underestimate Your Creative

The Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group commissions Advertiser Perceptions to annually survey brands and media agencies on five advertising effectiveness factors: Brand, Creative, Reach, Recency, and Targeting. Pierre Bouvard does a great job summarizing the results and comparing them to NCSolutions findings. The net, net? Marketers and agencies underestimate the value of creative and overestimate the value of targeting. The analysis isn’t specific to audio, but this is an important read. The best advertising starts with the creative message. Period. End of story.

Audacy Making Noise with Sports – What it Means to You

Audacy is launching a sports vertical, leveraging its 600 podcasts, 40 owned sports-radio stations, and 160 sports streaming channels. With a reach of 43 million monthly listeners, it’s positioned as a prime platform for brands to engage with sports enthusiasts nationwide. Marketers with sports as part of your mix, take note! Now, the big questions are: Can ads be bought seamlessly across platforms? Will there be visibility into cross-channel metrics such as reach and frequency?

Spotify Breaks Up With The IAB

Spotify recently ceased its membership with the IAB, but the change has gone unnoticed for the last three months. Following an inquiry from Podnews, it was discovered that Spotify’s Megaphone, Chartable, and the Spotify for Podcasters hosting platform (formerly known as Anchor) were no longer listed as being compliant for podcast measurement. Their last certification was in 2020. While Spotify asserts its current compliance with IAB 2.1 standards, concerns arise about the duration of this compliance, especially now, since they won’t be subject to audit. This raises questions about accountability in podcast measurement. For Chief Advertising Officers (CAOs), this highlights the importance of partnering with services like Podscribe for ad verification.

Writing, Cooking, & More with MasterClass

This week, #SaveTheLiveReads takes a listen to The Pete and Sebastian Show. ONCE AGAIN, they deliver a STRONG TESTIMONIAL for our key client, MasterClass. Having co-hosts who are not only invested in the ad read they’re delivering in real time, these guys are also MasterClass veterans – taking courses over the past 4 years, since its inception. Looking back at their previous deliveries, along with the duo’s latest MasterClass recommendation, Pete Correale and Sebastian Maniscalco consistently deliver strong live reads, filled with unique substantiation. We all know that Podcast fans live and breathe their favorite shows, and as time goes by, it’s easy to quickly recognize repeat recommendations. With this in mind, the Oxford Road values of growth and influence are well represented in The Pete and Sebastian Show. Thanks guys!

Listen Here

OXFORd In The News

Success to Significance

Because there’s never enough Stew Redwine (Oxford Road’s VP of Creative Services) to go around, our own creative guru was recently featured on Spreaker’s Success Made to Last podcast. He talks about the future of podcasting, emphasizing a philosophy of “love thy audience” and predicting significant growth, due to the backlash against excessive screen time. Stew also explores the concept of sonic branding, detailing how sound connects to emotions and influences feelings. Additionally, Redwine reflects on the role of helping others in achieving personal significance and the impact of such actions on personal relationships. Check out the whole episode by connecting with the link above.

If you’ve read this far, thank you!

The Influencer is a production from the team at Oxford Road.
If you like our sometimes sassy, mostly informed POVs on the wonderful world of audio advertising, you should see what we do for our clients.

Interested in seeing how we could help your business?
Contact us at influencer@oxfordroad.com!