Tag: sound

Brand Strategy Perspective

Selling sound

How do you sell sound? I’ve been observing the strategy of a music streaming service, Tidal, that is attempting to do just this.

While they’ve made some adjustments in their brand presentation since I wrote about them here, they are still misguided in their approach of promoting sound quality as the differential between them and their competitors.

The obvious reason that Tidal would try to sell sound quality is because selling screen quality has worked for television and other devices. But, the reality is:

Selling sound quality is not equivalent to selling screen quality.

Referring to science alone, sight is our most dominant sense. That is why we can distinguish between high and low screen quality. We don’t register the difference in sound quality enough to sway our purchase decision.

Considering this, how should Tidal adjust their overall brand strategy?

The tagline…

Current tagline: High Fidelity Music Streaming

The issue: What value does high fidelity add to me as an end user? I am not sure that most people could tell you the difference between high fidelity and the quality of their music now. It is not quantifiable in a way that people can extract value.

Suggested tagline: Flawless Music Streaming or Flawless Music

The quotes…

Current quote: “Forget Spotify. Get CD Quality Music” – Forbes

The issue: On Tidal’s website, there are several quotes that refer to the CD quality of the music. Meaning, Tidal is attempting to position themselves as offering new technology by comparing themselves to old, outdated technology? This takes away value and may be confusing to consumers, some of who may not even know what a CD is or have enough experience listening to them to understand the quality comparison.

Suggested quote: “I’ve never listened to music this flawless.” -Pannsy

Tidal should be inspired, not completely lead, by the sound quality of their music. They are trying to sell sound quality to the masses, when they should be selling to people who want their life, and their music, to be flawless. That is how you sell sound.

Brand Strategy

DOPE is the best of times

Our perception of time is a construct of the brain. And like every good thought experiment, time, under the right circumstances, can be manipulated. It is one thing to understand this theory in concept, it is another thing to witness it in action.

DOPE is an innocent film that did something mischievous. It managed to successfully place the viewer in two alternate time-zones, the 90’s and present day, without adjusting our perceived reality. To do this, the movie leveraged the power of visuals and sound.

DOPE-lab

Visuals….

Dual existence: The visuals were an intelligent mix of things that “could” exist in both time-zones (Hairstyles, clothes, etc.) For example, part of the movie takes place in a computer lab that looks like it could have existed in the 90’s.

Minimize themes: To keep the viewer from fully committing to a single time-zone, the movie did not lose itself in a dominant theme from either period. While the movie starred a teen cast, there was a relatively small use of social media, texting, cell phone use, etc.

Neutral: The scenes did not date themselves and were shot in areas that had a timeless quality to them.

Sound….

No compromise: The soundtrack for the movie matched the flavor of 90’s music without compromising today’s sound.

Lost in sound: Although our world is very connected, in DOPE, we did not get lost in the technology, we go lost in the sound.

Why it’s relevant….

These techniques keep the viewer absorbed in the 90’s, even though we know we’re in present day. This plays into the overall theme of the movie, which sets-out to shatter “outdated” and misguided perceptions about different groups of people. Just as the lead character cuts his 90’s hairstyle in favor of something more “updated” in the end, this movie challenges us to address stereotypes that don’t support the truth of who we really are today.