And Tim – very true about stations sticking with the same sonic logo for the long-term. Another example is the gloriously sung “102.7….Kiss…FM” is L.A. It’s avoided the cheese-factor by evolving slightly using the latest production techniques; each “evolve” giving a ‘nod’ to the latest styles of pop music. Their jingles are as recognisable in the city now as it was almost a couple of decades ago (which brings me to the question of how on Earth London’s equivalent – the Capital’s ‘hits’ station – has been allowed to change its on-air sound so many times in just 2-3 years? And have THREE different on-air names during that period for that matter? But that’s another discussion for another time!)

In fact, it’s a genuine worry that so few stations and station re-launches stick with the same sonic logo/station sound for the long-term. In the case of this new brand, the money going into it, and the people behind it, there’s a unique opportunity to make sure it’s “right” from day one.

Something else that I find highly concerning (and irritating), is the number of radio stations that still believe creating a sonic identity is as simple as choosing a jingle production company, telling them what your music policy and strapline is, then simply letting them “get on with it”. What about trying out different ideas on your audience? Or non-listeners? Why not work out in advance exactly how a new package is going to be used on air? What about trying something new; using sung jingles in a different way to your competitors? And, programmers, what about making sure they’re then used the correctly on air by presenters and producers? And remember, it’s the 21st Century. So, how will the sonic logo work with your visual logo – can something clever be done with sound that will place the brand’s visual (animated?) logo into the listener’s head every time they hear it? A la “I’m Lovin’ it” and the Direct Line telephone ring.

Why do so few stations seem to neither understand nor care about any of this?!

And nowadays of course, a station’s sonic identity is no longer something that will be heard on the radio alone. Moreso in the case of One Golden Square. Should the radio station’s websites (and the website of other businesses that the brand diversifies into) use the sonic logo, and how? Is there a new and clever way of doing this? Could it be easily adapted for banner ads, pop-ups and websites promoting the radio station and the brand; used on a music TV service; or TV and cinema ads for the radio station?;

Hmmmm – more questions than answers here; sorry! Answers to follow. Not that I feel guilty, though. A good producer questions everything.

There was a pioneering station in the States during the 80′s (can’t remember where) called ‘The Arrow’. What was their sweeper? “Swoosh…Boing”. The sound of a cartoon bow and arrow. Brilliant. In essence, a sonic logo. Must have sounded refreshing in amongst the cheezy PAMS jingles and big ballsy voice overs.

The one thing that bothers me though is that many PD’s are obsessed with “freshening” the station imaging way too soon and way too often. Sure, if a package gets a bit stale, update it slightly, but I believe it should be based on what was there already…as long as it’s a well produced, creative, strong and effective package to begin with. Put it like this. Do you rip down a wall just because you want to change the colour? Does Coke change the colour of their cans or change the font of the brand every few years. No. They may however modify the packaging slightly. How often has the Dr Who theme changed since 1963? Never. The arrangement may have been updated over time, but it’s still always the same Dr Who theme and everyone recognises it. Same with the Corronation Street theme, The Who Wants To Be A Millionnaire theme. The Big Brother theme hasn’t changed at all in 9 years. I could go on.

My point is that these examples are as strong as the actual brand itself, verbal and visual. If a station creates a sonic logo, (and given we’re talking radio I can’t understand why radio has rarely done it well), make sure it’s a good one from the start, be prepared to stick with it for a very long time, but simply give it a new ‘sonic paint job’ every now and then, and throw out the Production FX CD’s, unless they’re used sparingly and for the right reasons, not just because they can be used to whip up a new sweepers.

What is it about imaging producers ranting so much anyway?

Think of six pips on Radio 4, an ice cream van, a fog horn. Sound is immensely provocative and radio stations across the UK (particularly) are chronic at making use of the one sense that they are supposed to understand the best.

I have presented a number of courses on “brand stand-out” and the one exercise the classes found very useful was to note the similarities between everybody else in the marketplace; Find the common links and then do an exercise to highlight the absolute opposite. Result: Stand out.

I am quite warmed by Bingethink’s suggestion of “ditch the liner” and use the station voices to brand the brand, but the station needs something that the listener can hang their hat on… a single sound… (One Big Ben bong, four piano notes, a sexy girl’s suggestive giggle, &c)?

The use of any voiceover needs assessment, (whether using your presenters or your… um… Dave Kelly). What do they say? How do they say it? And can the listener really understand what they are saying? Without a doubt, I think we can all agree that there is toooooo much bleep, beat and sweep in today’s production.

I frequently listen to stations where the station name is so well hidden in the slams, whooshes and 90-degree phasing effects that Osama Bin-Ladan would do well to chat with the station’s producer.

For my old station in Bournemouth, we used a simple trick of giving the audience “no bollocks” in our liner production – “We are a radio station… you can listen if you want”, “[Name of station] because we have a transmitter… and you don’t”. I liked these at the time, they were inoffensive, clear of production fx and read with a tongue-in-cheek attitude that complimented the sense of irreverence from the disc jockeys.

Today’s trick of “zzap, pow, station name” will get you lost. Period.

The other important element to remember is THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STATION IMAGING AND SPONSOR CREDITS. Build your station brand AND build your client’s brand… but DON’T mix them together.

Have a listen across any crowded European marketplace and you will hear the bigger brand stations using audio identifiers to clearly stand out in a noisy broadcast environment; “virgules” into ad breaks (even Keri Jones’ excellent Radio Scilly use this tactic), top of hour sonics (note NRJ over the last 25 years), the station ‘notes’ on Radio Comercial in Lisbon…

I could go on ad infinitum.

It’s not a difficult time to make your station stand out on-air thanks to the programmers lovin’ the work of their producers who are, in turn, hooked on making their production efforts more and more complex and convoluted that the next. Rant over.

Am fascinated by Donnach, Adrian and Clive’s new aquisition, I think Clive is one of – if not the – best creative programmer in the country and I will watch – and listen – with interest over the coming months.

Good luck TIML.

Back when I worked at BRMB as a producer, there were numerous times when I had to go and record vox pops for sweepers, etc. and I recorded several people singing the BRMB jingle – the reason it was so well known was due to the sonic ending. Many stations still use the same sonic jingle they used when they launched – Z100 New York is a fine example of this – they always incorporate the “Z100″ sting into their production – because it’s their recognisable sound.

I think a listener/consumer can ‘warm’ to these, as when they hear them, they KNOW who/what that brand is.

As stated in the initial blog, Clive mentioned the McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” and Intel. I bet when you read that, you could hear the sound in your head. Another fine example of this is Direct Line…. There! You’re singing it aren’t you?!

Sonic rules! (Not the hedgehog – he’s blue)

A sonic logo makes perfect sense for a radio station, particularly if it’s reinforced across all available media. Possibly not easy to achieve though, it needs to be very subtle, almost subliminal. My first thought was a switch clicking on in the background – perhaps like an old valve amplifier. click & hum. Perhaps it needs a similar ambiguity.

I tried to do a sonic logo for capital radio’s ticketline a long time ago. 18 months of effort and it never got off the ground. That was then…………

Cut the clutter and the mundanity of over-produced VOs and stings and echoes and just have presenters tell us what we need to know. Commercial radio programmers have stripped down banal DJ chatter (fair enough) and long sung jingles (fair enough) because they sound dated and cliched. Why not be the first to make your “station voice” be the actual voices of the station – the presenters? Clean and simple.