Categories: Articles

Calling All Stations – The Power Of Voice Branding

When our (sometimes) beloved Montreal Expos left our fair city. When the hockey lockout shut-out our city from a forthcoming winter of warm sporting memories. It got me thinking. Firstly, I’m not a sports guys, so it doesn’t really effect me, but then it struck me hard and it stung too.
I’ve given countless workshops on how to create an elevator pitch, how to network and what counts when it comes to branding and making your impression count.
There’s a real power in what I’ll call “voice branding” and we don’t acknowledge it in our complex visual world. When I was sitting down to write this entry, it struck me how many more times we’re “branding” Twist Image through the power of voice over and above all other mediums.
What is the price, cost and profit of NOT having the word “Montreal” in every newspaper (ok, it may be in the sports section but was still there nearly every day) now that the Expos will not be making news and it looks like the skates have been traded for hot destinations this coming hockey season? What does that cost our country, province and city in terms of immeasurable branding and tourism?
I know I must have dropped (branded?) Twist Image more than a handful of times today in just my regular business, personal and community activities. When you call the office someone (and they better be happy!!) always says “Welcome to Twist Image, how can I help you?” And it’s there on our voicemail and people refer us clients by our name and so on and so on.
Voice Branding. Can you measure the power? Does it depend on the source? Regardless, I would reason that it’s the highest, most frequent and powerful form of branding known to us (and most of the time we’re not even aware of it!). It also adds a new dimension when you’re pre-start-up and thinking about your nomenclature (but that’s for another Blog entry).

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.