Every Friday morning our copy team listens to Radio 1′s ‘Golden Hour’ – a selection of hits from a mystery year. Invariably, the person to guess the year correctly is usually someone with a story that relates to one of the featured songs. Whether it’s a song that got you the girl or boy you’d been lusting after at the school disco, a memorable holiday or something your Nan played while she cooked a Sunday breakfast, music is intrinsically linked with memories and experiences.

Happy shoppers

Along a similar vein, research suggests that music can subliminally affect the way we behave and the decisions we make. Major department stores and high-street chains use popular music to entertain customers and encourage footfall through their doors. By association, upbeat, happy music helps to create a positive relationship between the person and their shopping experience. In turn, a good experience will become a good memory which lends itself to customer loyalty and brand awareness.

Fresh new in-store sounds

At PH Media Group we’re very aware of the powerful and positive effect music can have on customers and sales. That’s why we’re currently working hard on some new and exciting developments within our PH Radio division, and although we can’t quite spill the beans yet, keep checking this blog and the PH Media Group website to be first to hear the latest on PH Radio.

And, just for fun, we thought we’d share this video that turned viral this week – proof of the positive effect music can have on us all!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZrEWwbjMK4

Only last week, we talked to Mark about his book deal for his debut novel with Simon & Schuster. Today, Mark’s audio play The Miner and the Thief (written to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Miners’ Strike) is available to download online. And the best part – it’s absolutely free.

Here’s a brief synopsis:

25 years after the strike that divided Britain, ex-miner Joe is forced to question his most cherished ideals when he confronts a young man who breaks into his Yorkshire home. Warning; contains strong language.

The play stars Ian Curley as Joe and Chris Barlow as Ethan and is produced by Iain Mackness, executive produced by Ashley Byrne and directed by Mike Heath. It’s a Made in Manchester/Dark Smile Production for The Independent.

You can download Mark’s play here on The Independent’s website, and here on iTunes.

Congratulations Mark (again!)

Mark Griffiths writes comedy and drama for radio, TV and stage. His first ever commission was for Radio 4’s Week Ending programme at the age of seventeen, closely followed by a stint writing material for Smith & Jones for BBC 1 aged eighteen. His writer/contributor credits include TV Go Home (E4 and tie-in book), Comedy Nation (BBC2), The News Huddlines (BBC Radio 2) and co-creating BBC sitcom The Basement.

He has written several original plays, including Leona Cash (BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play 2008); The Impossibility Club and The Lullaby Witch (both for 24/7 Theatre Festival, Manchester). The Lullaby Witch will be performed at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.

We think this is a brilliant piece of Audio Branding by Coca-Cola. Thanks to Sound Lounge for publishing the full story –  read it here .

As one of PH Audio’s dedicated audio producers, Mark Griffiths spends his days making client productions sound the way they should. But by night, he’s a hugely talented scriptwriter and novelist – and for his efforts he recently landed a publishing deal for his debut novel with Simon & Schuster.

In this post, Matt catches up with Mark to learn about the book and find out how he’s juggled the sound of words with writing them.

Hi Mark! Big congratulations on the book deal. We’re all looking forward to robbing your champagne and canapés. Can you tell us what the book’s all about?

Well, the book’s a science fiction comedy for children of about seven or eight and upwards. It’s called Space Lizards Stole My Brain! and it’s about an ordinary school boy who becomes possessed with the mind of an alien lizard warlord.  It’s autobiographical, obviously.

It sounds pretty unhinged – in a good way – and perfect for the age group. But over the years, you’ve also written comedy and drama for radio, TV and stage. Tell us a bit about how you’ve come to writing for children.

I know exactly the kind of stuff I can do, the jokes I can do, and the stories I can tell. I have a lot of quite bizarre, wacky ideas, and children’s fiction seems the best format for a lot of those ideas.

You also have experience as a copywriter, too. As a copywriter myself, I’m interested to know whether writing adverts and producing them has had any impact on the way you write fiction.

I suppose my background’s in radio production and copywriting. I’ve worked for a couple of radio stations around the North West as a copywriter and producer of radio commercials. And throughout that time I was also writing freelance, working on sketches, pilot shows for BBC radio and TV, so there’s a crossover there.

Do you think there’s a key component to writing successfully across lots of formats?

I think the techniques of good writing apply across all types of writing, whether that’s an on-hold script, a stage play or TV stuff. For copywriting, you know it’s important to remove unnecessary words, keep the voice active, use interesting verbs. These are crucial skills in copywriting, and they transfer really well to script writing or novel writing. The skills you use in writing copy for our clients, you’d draw on those writing anything else.

Have you found it tricky to write a novel while doing a full-time job?

Well, I’ve had busy break times and lunch times! It’s good to have a little project to do in your spare time. I think it’s all about self-discipline, as you’ll know as a writer yourself. You get into a habit of doing a certain amount a day. While I was writing this one, I’d say to myself , “try and write a thousand words a day”.

And have you any tips for the aspiring novelist?

For me, it was a textbook case of using the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook – in my case specifically, the version for children’s writers. You write the novel, you send the first three chapters to a variety of agents, and you hope for the best. I sent it to around 25 in total, and was honest about multiple submissions. It’s not only good manners to do that, but it means that if there’s interest they might get back to you quicker!

Well, we’re all glad they did. Thanks for chatting, Mark!

SPACE LIZARDS STOLE MY BRAIN! will be published by Simon & Schuster in January 2012

Photo credit: Kevin H @ Flickr

You’ve no doubt heard it before – when it comes to promoting your business, place your main focus on the benefits (not the features) of your product or service. But this advice so often gets overlooked.

After pouring hard work, creativity and countless resources into your business, you deserve to sing its praises. But without a meaningful connection and a tangible list of benefits that separate you from your competitors, phrases like “our service is really friendly” just won’t get the results you want.

Now, I know that when you said “We’ve doubled our profits in the last year, because we are the best at what we do,” you really thought your customers would care. But think about it. Why would I be interested in how much profit you’ve made, when what really impresses me is your next-day delivery service on the products I need, at a much cheaper price than the manufacturer?

When you try to sell the features of your product, your customer has to do all the work to figure out why they want it. It’s in the seller’s best interest to draw the connection for them. But to do that, you have to know the results yourself.

Identifying the benefits

Of course, it’s easy for a copywriter to instantly identify the unique selling points and benefits of the business they’re writing for. But if you’re not used to tackling your own business copy for brochures or e-shots for example, see if these simple steps won’t give you inspiration (examples in brackets refer to an audio marketing service):

1. List the features of each product or service (E.g. bespoke audio productions; professional scriptwriting; cutting-edge remote access technology)

2. Next, think of and try to identify your customers’ needs and desires. (Finding affordable ways to promote their business; improve their brand; increase revenue)

3. Then, ask yourself why your customers should care about your product’s features. (Enhances corporate image; reduces caller ‘hang ups’; improves client retention)

4. Once you’ve identified the key, say five or ten benefits of your service – focus your marketing content (your website, leaflets etc) around them.

Brian Clark, founding editor of Copyblogger, and co-founder of Teaching Sells and Lateral Action, says: “Look, if you own a company and you want to market based on your personal preferences without regard for what works best with your prospects, that’s your prerogative. As long as you accept personal responsibility for lower revenues and profits when you miss the mark, no one can say a thing.”

And we tend to agree. When we approach our customers’ On-Hold Marketing scripts, we write for the intended listener, always aiming to find a happy split between benefits and features. Work that method into the rest of your marketing literature and you’re on to a giant WIN.

If you’d like advice on how to ensure your On-Hold Marketing production is benefit-led, feel free to drop us a line.

What’s the first voice your callers hear? Interactive Voice Response (IVR) – also known as auto attendant messaging – is a popular feature with busy businesses operating a number of departments. The IVR technology quickly connects calls, offering a number of pre-recorded options for the caller to choose from. It then recognises keypad or voice instructions to direct calls to desired departments efficiently with minimum disruption to callers and staff. But that’s not the only benefit…

The benefits of an IVR

Cost: As well as reducing hold time for callers, IVR also greatly reduces support staff costs. This is because businesses no longer require that ‘first-point-of-contact’ team member to answer and transfer calls because it does that for you – 24 hours a day! This is particularly useful for organisations with a global presence.

Communication: Improvements in efficiency are always going to be popular with customers, but when those improvements mean less waiting time on hold and faster, more streamlined services, you can expect to benefit from an increase in customer satisfaction levels, retention rates and new business.  (Research carried out by CRM Today and Articlebase)

Brand perception: If you already use On-Hold Marketing, you can have your IVR / auto attendant message recorded by the same voiceover artist; thus creating a consistent audio brand across your telecommunications.

Research carried out by eCustomerServiceWorld.com states that IVR is now commonplace globally because of its proven success rates. QVC – the home shopping channel – is now managing over 38% of incoming calls with automated call handling technology. Pretty impressive when you consider that the majority of their sales are generated through incoming telephone calls.

Getting it right

You must be careful to keep information, clear, concise and to-the-point. The Genesys Global Consumer Survey recorded that 57% of customers greeted with an IVR with too many options became frustrated. This can result in lost calls – so make sure you avoid overcomplicating your IVR / auto attendant message.

Many telephone systems offer businesses the chance to record their IVR / auto attendant message but the results often sound tinny, sub-standard and amateur. Sandra the receptionist might have a lovely telephone voice, but you have to consider brand perception.

A professionally recorded IVR / auto attendant message says you’re organised, efficient and ready to do business.

Most importantly, an IVR shows callers that you’re committed to making the most of their time – not wasting it. You’re taking the initiative to direct their calls quickly and efficiently while reducing hold time.

Just remember to keep your options transparent and succinct and your IVR / auto attendant will make your callers’ lives a lot easier.

Listen again to this Radio 4 programme last broadcast in the UK on Saturday, at 15:30. Sue Perkins explores audio branding and how composers capture an entire brand in a few musical notes.

With contributions from Professor John Deathridge, one of the world’s leading musicologists, the programme is an interesting listen – but you must be quick – you only have five days left to listen again.

Click here to visit the BBC website and listen again.

Hold messages have a bad rep in some quarters. When you listen to the worst examples of music on hold, you can see why.

Sound quality. Music choice. Voice choice. All of these things can make or break an on-hold experience. But something that’s sometimes overlooked is the script. And more specifically, clichés.

In this post, we’re looking at how an overused phrase with good intentions can actually have the wrong effect.

Heard that before?

Clichés are the phrases we know and often hate. They’re the phrases that run a fine line between functional (everybody understands them) and irritating (nobody wants to hear them).

Clichés started out as great phrases that turned hackneyed when everybody started using them. They fast become cheesy, too. Like bad jokes, the worst clichés make you groan and wince.

And if you think of being on hold – of all the times you’ve ever tapped your foot to some anonymous lounge jazz – you’ll be able think of one in particular:

Your call is important to us.

Are you sure it is?

See, the company you’re calling is passionate about customer service. They want to reassure you and keep your business. After all, that’s why they’ve installed hold messages to start with: your call IS important. But because the company’s heard so many hold messages before – and because they think it’s the done thing – they’ll request that their script says:

Your call’s important to us.

And you think, hearing that cliché, that cheese; a phrase that’s well-intentioned but kind of hollow, Well, it can’t be that important.

So at PH Audio, our scriptwriters have found better ways to say it.

Sounding sincere is crucial

You know when you apologise to someone, and they want actions, not words? It’s the same on hold. A company can say sorry all they like, but if you’re waiting on hold for twenty minutes, it’s probably not an apology you want – it’s an operator.

That’s why it’s a good idea to avoid the cheese. Take out the fluff and the stuff your callers have heard a million times over from a million other companies.

Instead of making a call a negative experience, make it a positive one. Tell your callers what you can do for them. Speak to your callers in a way they’ll appreciate. Talk to your callers about things you know will benefit them.

In clichéd terms, add more value to the time your callers are on hold. That way, they’ll know their call really is important.

Where television and online advertising offer layers of stimulus – colour, sound, movement, logos – a telephone advert engages with fewer senses, but is no less complex.

In this post we’re looking at the impact of an on-brand audio voiceover; one that embodies your business and its beliefs perfectly.

Sounds familiar

In recent years, famous actors and television personalities have become synonymous with big brands. Ricky Gervais’ wing-man, Stephen Merchant, now voices Barclays’ advertising campaign, his dulcet Bristol tones bringing a laid-back approach to a multi-national name. Lesser-known actor Simon Greenall, better recognised as Geordie Michael from I’m Alan Partridge, has been revealed as one of the biggest voiceover hits with his Aleksandr the Meerkat voice for comparethemarket.com. While famous names and branding are not a new pairing, in today’s advertising the stress seems to be on the voice as much as it is on the face; possibly even more so.

Celebrity and recognisable voiceovers create a ‘voice brand’ which serves to show just how important voices are becoming to modern business advertising.

The professional pitch

Ensuring your hold messages, auto attendants and answer phone messages all seamlessly reflect your brand is essential for an appropriate and consistent service delivery. Without visuals, far more emphasis is placed on voice, the words your voiceover speaks and how they say them. And while it may seem like Brenda on reception can give your business a ‘personal touch’, as we’ve discussed previously in Mark Griffiths’ breathless post, natural speech utterances rarely sound professional.

Finding your voice

At PH Audio, we recommend clients carefully consider the voice they want to use for their production, making sure that it blends with existing campaigns and additional services like Web Audio. So, if you’re looking to find the right voiceover for your on-hold production, here are some points worth considering:

Appropriateness – does the voice suit your business?

Consistency – is it in keeping with your established advertising and brand values?

Credibility – is the voice believable and professional?

Audience – what do they want and how will that personality translate vocally?

Competitors – what’s already out there and how will your voice be heard above these?

Audio branding for business

There’s a lot to consider when choosing your voiceover and every business has different requirements. Male Corporate would never work for a ladies beauty salon, but could work perfectly for an insurance group or law firm where his voice can instil confidence and trust. Because callers can’t see the person speaking (at least not until technology is developed further), the imagination becomes a key player. Your voice’s personality has to shine through their speech, so the correct levels of conviction have to be employed and different voices will immediately conjure images in your caller’s mind. For many people, Male Corporate will be a successful middle-aged chap in a navy pin-striped suit, while Female Northern Bubbly is a blonde, buxom lass brimming with friendly charm – or maybe that’s just the way we see them?

The audio cream of the crop

At PH Audio, all our voiceovers are familiar voices from TV and radio. They deliver speech for a living so you can be sure that every rhythm, pitch and intonation is carefully considered and produced to your exacting criteria. Working alongside our scriptwriters, our audio production team will help you match the right words to the right voice, so your On-Hold Marketing is always on-brand.

Having a bad day at work and tempted to tell callers exactly what’s on your mind? For many people, indulging in a spot of under-the-breath mumbling is enough to relieve tension, but for one school in Australia, their infuriation at pupil absences and lack of parental support was eloquently spat all over their answering machine. In fact, a whole auto attendant message was dedicated to making their feelings very clear!

Did I hear that correctly?

With no fewer than 10 auto attendant choices, parents were encouraged to press a number most suited to their enquiry – covering everything from lying about a child’s absence or inability to do their homework to swearing at staff and complaining about lunches. It certainly makes for an entertaining listen – check it out:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwghabw4N80

Office on meltdown or just a clever hoax?

If this is a real recording, we’re led to believe that the message had disastrous consequences for the school.  Well, such a courageous (or stupid) message would! So make sure your day goes a little easier by keeping customers informed with clear, concise and direct On Hold Marketing and auto attendant messages. And if you’re feeling a little close to the edge, just write down an imaginary auto attendant list. It’ll make you feel better… and it’s much more amusing than counting to ten!