Create an Audio Style Guide for Your Brand
Whether you are a large multinational organisation, or a regional SME business, a reliable style guide is an essential. It assists employees and those who create business content to stay within the scope of your brand’s identity.
A part of this component contains guidelines and suggestions that are put in motion to guarantee that audio- and audio-visual content, such as podcasts, videos and advertisements are developed in a relevant and consistent way.
What is the purpose of an audio section within a style guide?
An audio section contained in the style guide is simply generated to ensure that those who work with audio content are aligning with your brand and brand voice. Guidelines are put in place to guarantee that audio and visual content is delivered in a uniform and reliable way.
Why is audio style guide important to marketers?
An audio section is essential for digital marketers when generating content for any client or business.
Effectiveness is key, if the content creators are not entirely familiar with a brand, they will need a clear and coherent set of techniques and examples to follow. A well written audio style guide can go a long way in improving the quality and satisfaction of your final product.
Why is it difficult to create a style guide for audio?
The audio fundamentals of a style guide are hard to identify, as there is not a huge number of examples online. When allocating sounds and music it can be very demanding as you need to integrate music tastes together with brand identity. Audio is applied throughout a range of different platform mediums, therefore modifying a style guide is imperative, especially for platforms like podcasts, which rely completely on audio experiences.
How to create an audio style guide
- Create a group of keywords
Contemplating the nature of your brand identity, consider what distinct message your brand wants to impress upon your audience. Create a list of keywords that complement your brand. Is your brand trendy, modern, quirky? These words will influence your music options.
Having keywords can also assist those who are seeking to modernise their music or sound effect packages.
- Include current SFX and music as examples
One of the key sections of an audio style guide is to include the song titles and artists you currently hold within your media bank.
If you are just starting out with building your brand and are looking for audio style, simply add some examples of music and soundbites that you feel match well.
It is also important to remember that if you already have a range of songs/SFX, ensure that they are usable, and you have legal rights to utilise them in your media.
- Laying out the rules
It is helpful to concentrate on clear rules. Just as you would frame the parameters of your logo, variations, usage and placement, similarly you will want to do the same with audio.
Be rigid with your sound quality and the levels. For example, the recommended levels are between 10db and 20db. Establishing these guidelines will assist in maintaining continuous audio quality throughout your media.
- Touchpoints
Audio touchpoints are comparable to other touchpoints that exist within your marketing plan and are essential for your brand. Correlate what type of sounds you want for certain touchpoints. Have you got a podcast?
If so, what touchpoints might you want to incorporate? A jingle to start with is a great way to capture an audience’s attention and ensure you are remembered.
This is known as an audio logo. If you possess a short audio jingle, choosing where it could be placed (in this case the beginning or at the end of advertisement / or both).
Summary
The audio component in your style guide should not be overlooked, it should be a crucial part of your branding. Particularly if you are seeking to create consistent first-rate and on-brand audio visual content for your business. Having branding guides for audio logos and quality control will save time for both the creators and the organisation.
If you would like some help developing an audio style guide or your brand guidelines, get in touch with us today!
We would love to collab with you! Call 0203 150 0565 or email info@stefaniegrant.com.