Musical Branding: An Interview with Sam Parvin - Part 2

“Tap into who your consumer is, really know. And I don't mean like ‘males 25-34 years old who live in cities.’ No, it's like ‘what's important to this person, where do they spend their time,’ you know, those kinds of things, really thinking about who that person is and then what your company's role, what your brand's role, plays in their lives. And then, just naturally, you know how music can kind of work in there, and I think from there you'll start to see some natural potential opportunities. And if you brainstorm that internally with your colleagues, I think some things will just shake themselves out.” -- Sam Parvin

This episode's the second part of my interview with music supervisor and branding expert Sam Parvin as we talk about how different branding perspectives can lead to very different licensing strategies, Sam’s three best practice steps when it comes to music branding, and how a more fluid and mobile audio landscape is creating both new challenges and opportunities for musical marketing.

As always, if you have any questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in these show notes. If you have questions for me, just visit www.audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find all sorts of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter (on the www.audiobrandingpodcast.com webpage) will let you know when the new podcasts are available.

What Your Music Means

We begin the second half of the interview with a look back at some of Pepsi and Coke's most famous advertising campaigns, and how their distinct marketing strategies and approaches to branding led to very different choices when it came to licensing music. "They're using music in different ways," she explains, "because of what their brand DNA is as well as the campaigns that they're working on at different times." She tells us how a famous song isn't always the best marketing choice and shares a success story that came from adapting a licensed composition to meet her client's needs.

A Living, Breathing Vessel

“Your brand is a living, breathing vessel,” Sam tells us, “and so too is your music strategy.” Music, she explains, has a more dynamic, versatile quality than more visual forms of marketing, and how there’s a much more diverse range of music and audio inspiration available out there than many companies have considered. “They're getting their music choices either from Spotify or production libraries,” she says. “But there is an entire world of amazing music in between those two.” We talk about her three best practice tips when it comes to audio branding, from finding your company’s musical point of view to making sure that you have somebody overseeing your musical brand from start to finish.

The Democratization of Music

We wrap up the interview with a look at what she calls the democratization of music, and how everything from Spotify playlists to innovations in augmented reality are changing the role music and musical branding plays in our lives. As she puts it, "brands' biggest challenge now is being flexible and being able to move quickly, because the whole world is moving quickly." We talk about the deepening connection between musical branding, marketing, and culture, and how they're only becoming more interconnected over time. "They're the ones who are telling us what's okay in the world and what's acceptable in the world," Sam notes. "It's a great responsibility that we have as marketers."

Episode Summary