The most rewarding part of being an advertiser is the knowledge that someone, anyone knows your brand…and that someone knows your brand specifically through your efforts. There are great roadside/street-side signs familiar to Torontonian’s such as Sam The Record Man and all of the world famous distinct signs on Fremont Street in Las Vegas.
If they are impressive and make an impact with the viewer, the impressions last forever. The same is true with audio – a great spot will make a great impact on a listener. But a great jingle, along with the proper exposure it needs, will make an incredible impact. These, like iconic signs, last forever in a persons memory. I can still recall jingles from my youth today…they will probably be with me till my dying days. Jingles like the “Oscar Mayer Wieners” classic, among other local jingles are part of my psyche.
One must remember though, to be memorable, one does not need to be Beethoven…only only needs to be great at conveying a message. Jingles are an art form, that is true…but art implies a tortured soul conveying his/her inner emotions onto a canvas, music sheet or otherwise. Jingles however do not require tortured souls – as they are only conveyors of happy/funny emotions…but emotions nonetheless. They are indeed art, just not the type of implied art that so many of us picture in our minds.
The ability to a) create a memorable melody, b) match it to an efficient lyric and then c) actually create the audio with the professionalism required for such a task is no easy feat.
When I am asked about our jingles by anyone, either an outsider of the radio business, or even a new account exec/sales rep, I inevitably get pitched musical ideas they have in their minds. Some are great, and some are not. But most are just vague outlines of something they THINK sounds like a melody and something they THINK would fit into a particular type of music. These are all great things…they are the nucleus of ideas needed to get started. But after the casual musings of such things…the ideas drop away, and we are left with the actual task of taking the idea floating in the wind they provided and turn it into a solid piece of material we can use to convey they message of the company they represent.
Going beyond the initial idea is what we have been doing for years and we have become very efficient at it. All the musical years of formal training, self training and actual work experience training come into play. This is what allows us to go beyond the initial idea in the wind, and make it an actual jingle.
What we specialize in are something we call mini-melodies…essentially tiny sing-outs that give the impression of a full scale jingle, but at a small scale budget. We use our small but talented musical staff to create the lyric, the melody, the music bed and finally the vocals.
Team One creates the lyric and melody along with a description of the music bed that fits the style of the client. Team Two takes that solid idea and turns it into an actual music bed with the strong and appropriate vocals.
We can do this within just a couple of days. How?
They are just as the title implies – they are small jingles – mini-melodies. They are usually only a 3 to 5 second sing-out placed at the end of an ad…lyrics such as ‘smiths bedding, we’ve got you covered’…or ‘home sweet home, is living in a reed’s home’.
Over the years, we have produced many a jingle, but have noticed that only the sing-outs get used in any capacity. This is why we scaled down our productions to only include the mini-melodies. They are just as effective as a full 30 or 60 second (if not more) and are a fraction of the cost. For account exec’s/sales reps for radio/tv stations…we have found they they are invaluable in recruiting first-time buyers to the medium and in keeping current long-time clients happy with a creative refresher, or value-addition to their current campaign.
In October, we will be posting samples of recently done mini-melodies that you are welcome to download/show your clients as possible demo’s for them. Cost-wise, the price is lower than you imagine. And for current contracted clients, these mini-melodies are included in your package at only 3 units each…an amazing value considering the power they can wield on the field with clients.
Contact us with any questions you may have – we hope to help your sales with our mini-melodies. New demo’s for you to use are coming soon!