This project was completed with consent from Food Bank for New York City and involved the development of an audio identity for the brand and its associated auditory media. However, it is not indicative of the organization's actual brand or their intended brand direction.
The Brand
Food Bank for New York City’s (n.d.) mission statement is as follows: “The mission of Food Bank For New York City is to end hunger by organizing food, information and support for community survival and dignity” (para. 1). Through the use of the Statue of Liberty silhouette in their logo and associated messaging, Food Bank for New York City attempts to link their cause with the organization’s namesake city and every person’s right to freedom and prosperity. As such, the brand is tied directly into that yearn for freedom upon which the United States was founded. The brand is one of action, caring, and community outreach—with the help of those who are willing and able to provide it.
Audio Identity
core branding
This portion of the proposal will outline the suggested production of an audio brand identity for Food Bank of New York City. This outline will focus on the three categories of film sound as outlined by Texas Tech University (n.d.): Dialogue/spoken word, music, and sound effects. Though not all elements must be used, this proposal will summarize ways in which they may be used to the greatest effect.
When developing audio identities, Noel Franus (2008) of AIGA explains that the composition and implementation of the piece requires scalability, adaptability, and objectivity. The piece will be used across multiple media, heard on various devices of varying audio quality, and listened to in a multitude of environments. Thus, the piece must be produced in such a way that it can scale to meet these many needs. Additionally, this asset will live for many years. As such, it must be malleable enough to evolve with the brand and sub-brands.
To speak to both the deeply American act of helping those less fortunate and the city’s history of taking in and providing shelter and aid to the homeless and hungry—by way of immigration—the audio identity for Food Bank for New York City should reflect these same ideals, if only subliminally.
The concept began with “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key, taking only the opening notes of this iconic and nationally known song:
Nearly every note corresponds to a word in the lyrics. In this case, “Oh say can you see.” This is paired down to only the most important words—or, rather, associated notes—as they relate to the organization, “can you see”:
However, this fails to reflect the urgency of the problem of hunger and homelessness as well as the urgency of daily life in New York City. As such, the notes and instrument are adjusted accordingly:
Though simplistic, this short audio identity will, implemented often enough, better trigger brand recognition among the target audience. Sound Designer Nick Metcalfe (2014) explains that simplicity in sound design works “because there's just enough information for our brains to make the connection” (para. 15). In this case, it provides just enough information for the target audience to associate these tones, in succession, with the Food Bank for New York City brand.
Where appropriate, this musical brand identity should be immediately followed by the spoken words, “Food Bank for New York City.” Additionally, and where time and purpose permit, this can then be followed with the organization’s somewhat unofficial tagline and call-to-action, “donate, advocate, volunteer.” No additional sound effects are to be used beyond the paired track ducked beneath the audio identity.
The primary component of this audio identity is the three-chord musical element described above, as it provides the strongest “symbolic meaning” and mental association of the available options (Texas Tech University, n.d.). However, in audio-only productions, this musical element must be followed by all or part of the spoken word component, but no less than the name of the organization.
Audio Identity
extended assets
As described in the general outline of the video component of the three-prong marketing strategy for Food Bank for New York City, this rich media component of this proposed media mix will feature a series of 30- to 90-second videos briefly detailing the lives of the homeless and hungry in New York City’s five boroughs, the ways in which they found themselves a part of this underserved community, and the ways in which Food Bank for New York City—and its many volunteer supporters—has made a positive impact on these individuals’ lives.
This portion of the audio identity proposal focuses on the audio aspect of the motion media project and the purpose of the concept to be followed. Additionally, the suggested auditory rules established for this project are the same that should be carried into future Food Bank for New York City projects, be they video or audio-only in nature. The importance of the audio component of this and any rich media project cannot be overstated. Toonimo Co-Founder Ohad Rozen (2015) says, “Appealing to all the human senses helps to engage emotions and, ultimately, influence a purchasing behavior” (para. 2). The emphasis placed on the auditory production of the project will deepen the emotional impact of the project and further strengthen the messaging of all efforts within this multimedia campaign.
In all rich media collateral, the overall tone of the dialogue should be upbeat and positive, reflecting Food Bank for New York City’s ultimate goal of ending hunger within its namesake city. Branding agency Incitrio (2015) explains that positive marketing is successful because it allows an audience to see this positivity reflected in their own lives, and is especially effective when marketing to the millennial demographic that the organization is targeting. Marketing with positivity gives the audience a sense of happiness to which they can aspire, and is then closely linked with brand providing it (Incitrio, 2015).
However, this positivity requires an equally powerful negative object to fully define the triumph to be associated with the donation of time, money, and food. Jay Siff (2015), CEO of marketing agency Moving Targets, explains that for one to take full advantage of positive marketing, marketers first need to “paint a negative picture of the risk associated with the problem in question, and then frame the solution more positively, along with the product or service” (para. 5). As such, the dialogue category of the overall sound design—as well as the associated imagery in motion variants—will first focus on the negativity inherent to one’s fall into the situations that lead to hunger and homelessness. This dialogue portion of the audio design will then quickly transition to the positive nature of Food Bank for New York City’s work, those that the organization helps, and those that provide their help to the organization. To ensure the maximum effect intended, the tone of the spoken dialogue should always follow this order.
Likewise, the music should follow a similarly positive tone, though it is not advised to strengthen the dour tone with which productions such as this are opened. Instead, more somber scenes should be void of music altogether, allowing the reality of the situation sink in through visuals and ambient sound effects alone. Below is a short sampling of the kinds of positive music that is to be paired with similarly positive imagery:
“About Us” by Martin Haene & Marco Ricciardi, Westar Music
“After a Long Day” by Rick Ivanoff, Damian Jacobs, & Gary Brown, Westar Music
Finally, sound effects should only be inserted to strengthen the existing ambient audio in recorded video and/or audio, but only where necessary or appropriate to conveying action. In video productions, sound effects should only be used to bolster the positive nature of the work that the organization and its volunteers do, such as the clanging of pot and pans, the knocking of cans of food, the laughter of those helped and those helping them, and so on. It should be minimized in the opening, negative aspects of the videos so as to place the greatest impact on the positive portion of the videos—thus increasing the positive takeaway in the minds of viewers. In audio-only assets, such as radio spots or podcasts, this rule can be disregarded in favor of more accurate and compelling aural storytelling.
Target Audience Impact
Ultimately, this audio identity will lead to increased brand recognition in the minds of the organization’s target audience. Where the brand is recognized, it should be associated with thoughts of positivity, giving, and redemption. For this to happen, though, the brand audio identity and associated guidelines must be used and followed religiously where at all possible because “real brand value is created when the identity is leveraged as a system rather than a collection of scattered, individual parts or nifty sounds that come and go with a campaign or temporary brand program” (Franus, 2007, para. 26). Employed effectively, this audio identity will further strengthen the Food Bank for New York City brand, those associated with it, and the organization’s cause.
References
Food Bank for New York City. (n.d.). About Food Bank. Retrieved from http://www.foodbanknyc.org/about-food-bank
Franus, N. (2007, April 26). Building brand value through the strategic use of sound. Retrieved from http://www.aiga.org/building-brand-value-through-sound/
Incitrio. (2015, March 4). Marketing positivity to millennials. Retrieved from http://incitrio.com/marketing-positivity-to-millennials/
Metcalfe, N. (2014, August). Sound design for visual media. Retrieved from http://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/sound-design-visual-media
Rozen, O. (2015, February 20). Why audio content is successful in audience engagement. Retrieved from https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2015/02/why-audio-content-successful-audience-engagement-gp.html
Siff, J. (2015, September 24). The power of positivity in marketing. Retrieved from http://movingtargets.com/blog/email-marketing/the-power-of-positivity-in-marketing-blog/
Texas Tech University. (n.d.). Categories of film sound. Retrieved from http://webpages.acs.ttu.edu/sbaugh/soundmaster.htm