Hey there Cincinnati I-marketing Group blog readers!
As companies work on making their sites more compelling, podcasting and incorporating audio elements are hot topics these days, so I asked my friend Grant Cambridge (AKA "GrantBob") of Sound Images and ScreamingBob.com to describe for us some of the issues in adding audio to sites and here is Grant's summary:
One of the biggest obstacles, yet most promising trends in working with custom sound design, music, voices, etc, for websites these days is the available analytics and case studies of the effectiveness of such a tool. Because the world of Web 2.0 is very new and constantly evolving, few precedents exist that stretch far back in the past. In fact, just a mere two years ago, P&G came out with a study that showed the majority of the visits to their brand's websites were around 8:00-8:30am and 12:00pm, proving that people were visiting these sites while at work, during a break from the regular work day. As a result, anything perceived as "intrusive" during this time was shunned upon - sound being no exception.
However, as Web 2.0 continues to develop and as brands begin using their traditional broadcast advertising to direct people to their website for more custom, interactive experiences with the brand (think of any major car manufacturer), more and more emphasis and dollars are being invested in that online experience.
A major goal now is in trying to create an aura around a certain product that develops evangelists and communities related to the product. (Mentos being a perfect local case study!) Anyway, with this comes the development of interactive Flash games, movies, banner ads, videos, animation - all with the opportunity of being more dynamic with custom created sound. That is where ScreamingBob.com comes in.
Recently, a couple studies have been reported that are demonstrating the benefits of utilizing such a tool with one’s websites. Such studies include:
- A study by Martin Lindstrom and Millward Brown that demonstrates that the use of sound can influence the perception of a brand (whether good or bad) by up to 41% than without it.
- Participating advertisers in a study performed by BabyCenter, LLC experienced a 15%-168% increase in ad awareness when incorporating audio into their message.
- Ecommerce sites who integrate sound have experienced a boost in sales by as much as 33%.
- 80% of all internet users have speakers hooked up to their computer while 96% of internet users have the Macromedia Flash plugin installed on their computers, creating a common deliverable format for rich media files.
Those are a few examples of the studies that are emerging, demonstrating the direction and the opportunities that people can take advantage of in developing engaging, dynamic sites. It certainly is an exciting time to be in on what we feel is the “ground level” of this evolution and we’re excited that ScreamingBob.com is available and able to be a part of it.
GrantBob
513-241-7475
Excellent ISDN Voice Over Studio which provides a broad range of multilingual voice over services to the Global market. http://www.graffittistudio.com/en/voiceover-studio.html
Posted by: Stefan Kovachev | April 09, 2009 at 02:32 PM