A recent Dallas Morning News article about clearing clutter from your life got me thinking about the junk in my own life. The baseball cards that didn’t pan out as investments, the CDs that have piled up over the years, and even the old running shoes. Why is it so hard for me to toss a beat-up old pair of shoes that I’ve definitely moved on from?
But as it happens, a good way for me to procrastinate from cleaning was to think about how this idea relates to my job. I work on the Voice team here at Mood. We put a voice on the soundtrack of many of your favorite shopping, dining, and entertainment experiences.
Everything from big brand hotels and grocery store chains, to French cafes and car repair shops. We serve little doggy day cares, huge hospitals, theme parks and even ball parks… so you’ve probably heard from us.
But how much do you really want to hear? Should I keep my scripts to 140 characters? Are jokes passé? How about sound effects and fast-paced music? Do these just add to a sonic clutter that hides the sales objective of each message?
I think the answer really is: “it depends.” Each client is different, with different tastes, different audiences to consider, and different objectives to meet. It’s great to share the info that our clients feel is important, and for each one, that means something a little different.
Some like lists of sale items. Some like stories about their history or their employees. Many simply want to thank their customers for choosing to spend time with them. And yes, of course, many do want to highlight their latest must-have products.
Back to the article: “Every object, every clutter, every piece of information will pique your attention.” “It’s a cue; everything is connected to something else.”
And that’s actually what it comes down to for me. In each ad, I try to share information that will pique the listener’s attention but still connect to our client’s larger objectives. So besides the sale items, for example, the cue that each message should convey is that it’s only part of a larger brand, a more enveloping experience. And if it doesn’t, it becomes clutter in the ad.
“Mentally what happens is that you get rid of clutter you see, which also helps you get rid of clutter you can’t see, which is in your subconscious,” says organizational expert Amy Zepeda.
From my perspective, on this side of the content creation, we want the listener’s subconscious to be on our side. We want our reasoning to be solid in order to move the listener to act in our favor.
And we’ve got a good team here doing just that. Experts all, and reinforced by a streamlined process which allows us each a hand in crafting the final product, we’ll keep forwarding our client’s cues, without the clutter. It’s not easy, but it’s fun.
– Submitted by Jon Vaden, Voice