Season 7, Episode 2: Roses are Red

If you haven\’t yet called Harold\’s Hotline for your offering of Valentine\’s Day schmaltz, you still have all day to figure out where to get red roses and blue violets! Valentine\’s Day is a time to celebrate love and affection. People have traditionally exchanged gifts, chocolates, flowers, and cards to show their love and appreciation for partners, loved ones, and quiet crushes. The reality is, there\’s a more powerful and intimate way to express your love: sweet talk, love songs, and gentle whispers have all capitalized on how audio unlocks a whole new level of emotional connection.

Why is audio so powerful? Rain on a tin roof, nails on a chalkboard, the screeching of car tyres, the beeping of hospital machines, the buzz of a city street, the chirping of birds, the ping of a mobile phone. The human brain is wired to respond to sound. Our brains have evolved to process audio cues in a unique way, enabling us to quickly and accurately recognise sound, or the lack thereof (think of when children are quiet 😊). Sound can guide, warn, mobilize, stop, and encourage. Audio drives responses in us, making it an incredibly effective tool in advertising. Audio moves audiences, audio embodies action.

Audio is powerful.

Audio messaging is intimate and makes a connection with the listener in a singular fashion. This means the same piece of audio can be heard by several people, at the same time, with each person connecting on an individual level, creating a sense of closeness that is not as easily achieved using other forms of media. By making individual connections, the audio still activates a group response and drives a call to action with consumers.

Another reason why audio is such a powerful tool is that it can be more immersive than other forms of media. When we listen to audio, we can close our eyes and activate our imaginations and have our senses triggered by the pictures the sound creates. Audio messaging is also easier to process than text and has powerful recall and is easily committed to memory. Many of us can sing our favorite songs, but not too many of us can quote pages from books or poems.

As you practice your best Barry White voice for later, remember audio can also be your everything!