Audio Branding and its Impact on Consumer Recall: A Conversation with Mark Wonderlin - Part 1

Audio Branding

“I think a part of that is because, you know, 75% of people, like, on Facebook, will not listen to sound, so they don’t really equate it as much, or they don’t understand the value of it. However, sound is very, like, people are very unforgiving when it comes to sound. So people take in 50% of the experience through sound and that’s a combination of, like, music, narration, sound design elements, and if you can’t hear what the person’s saying when you’re watching it, people will turn it off right away.” -- Mark Wonderlin

My guest this week is the driving force behind Mosaic Media Films, and he brings more than expertise in video production – he brings a strategic marketing mindset. What sets his company apart is the unwavering focus on the marketing side of video content: he collaborates closely with clients, delving into the sales and marketing strategies of their businesses. This understanding allows him to create videos strategically tailored to drive traffic and boost sales.

His name is Mark Wonderlin, and our discussion will range from hints on how to get the most out of longer-form content and where sound plays a part in the marketing and production of a great video to how best to use sound to sell, all while remaining authentic to your brand.

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(0:00:00) - Sound in Video Production

We begin the episode with Mark’s earliest, most influential memories of sound, from playing basketball with his childhood friends to R&B groups like Boyz II Men and P.M. Dawn as a teenager. “I remember having the cassette player, listening to those cassettes, driving in my parents’ minivan,” he recalls. “Whenever I hear those songs it’s super nostalgic.” Our conversation turns to how he first got into video production, the unconscious impressions that sound design creates, and the challenge of keeping viewers engaged on platforms like TikTok, where you might have just a few seconds to make an impression. “I’m a big proponent of documentary filmmaking,” Mark adds. “Depending on the brand, it’s really good to just have that one-to-one narration directly connecting with the prospect.”

(0:15:44) - Importance of Audio Branding Consistency

The discussion shifts to audio branding and the role it plays in video production, from including musical motifs and sonic logos to keeping the same voice talent for a more consistent audio brand. “They’ll use a campaign,” Mark says about auto companies, “and use the same voice throughout because it creates that feeling and emotion they want to invoke. Is it a male voice that’s really gritty? Is it a female voice that’s really soft and trusting?” We also talk about resisting the temptation to shake things up for the listener. “I think another mistake that companies typically make,” he explains, “usually smaller businesses, is the importance of consistency in branding. Because they’ll get tired of it and they’ll just want to change it. But to new prospects, they’re seeing it for the first time.”

(0:19:59) - Effectiveness of Sonic Branding

Mark also talks about the hidden work that can go into fine-tuning a voiceover performance, and what he’s learned about it from the production side. “It was interesting for me,” he says, “because I was in my twenties at the time and I’d never had exposure to voice talent or an agency and I remember being on the phone and the voice talent was there with the agency and he would say that tag like fifteen different ways.” As we wrap up the first half of our conversation, he adds “I don’t think people understand the actual talent and skill that goes into changing the inflection of your voice. When it comes to voice talent and like what goes behind, actually, before you actually hear it.”

Episode Summary

• The music that stirs Mark’s memories and sound’s crucial role in video production.
• Audio branding and the value of consistency, from sonic logos to voiceovers.
• Some of the common mistakes businesses make when it comes to social video.

Tune in for part two of my chat with Mark as we talk about the pitfalls of testimonial videos and the different strategies that social media calls for compared to traditional websites, along with his thoughts about the rise of AI voiceovers and whether they might end up costing more than they save.

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Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

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