Audio Branding: The Hidden Gem
with Jodi Krangle
Fast forward to 1993. Through gaming (Dungeons and Dragons, to be exact), I was introduced to “Filk” music—the music that’s played at science fiction/fantasy conventions. In 1994, I joined two friends from the fandom world to form an acoustic band called Urban Tapestry. In our time together, we’ve headlined at music conventions in Canada, the U.S., and Europe.
Here are some fun facts about me:
* I was honored to be the Winner of the 2018 SOVAS Award for Outstanding Narration Demo. (That's the voice over Academy Awards. 😉 )
* I’m a filker! My all-female, acoustic band, Urban Tapestry is pretty well-known in the Filk scene (science fiction- / fantasy-themed music).
* I’m a self-taught computer nerd. I sold computer hardware back when the 386SX was shiny and new. (Wow, am I showing my age!)
* My love of computers led to my discovery of this mind-blowing thing called the internet back in the early 1990s. That led me into web design and the creation of a songwriting resource called The Muse’s Muse that I ran from 1994 until 2016.
* I started doing search engine optimization and internet marketing work back when banner ads were all the rage. (I’m getting older by the second . . . )
* If I could have a chip in my head keeping me connected to the Internet, I’d totally do that. I’m just about constantly connected (which is how I’m able to respond to emails so quickly)!
In case you’re wondering, yes, I’m a grown woman who (still) loves comic books and D&D. Think of me as a smart, wry, Tina Fey-like, post-apocalyptic warrior princess leading an army of Dr. Who and Firefly fans in an epic battle cry.
"If you're not paying as much attention to the way your brand sounds as you are to the way it looks, you're doing it a disservice and not making as deep a connection with your audience as you could."
-Jodi Krangle
I’ve done voiceovers in the healthcare, corporate, hospitality, political, and non-profit sectors, among others. I tend to stick to the commercial and corporate narration lane of voice overs - and my ultimate goal of making other people money with my voice, led me to discussing audio branding - something I knew I was contributing to with my voice.
My highly satisfied clients include Dell, Bose, BBVA, Subway, Mitre, Unisom, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, Kraft, Travel Alberta, HGTV, and more.
I also happen to have some folks listening who are fellow voice talent wanting to understand more about the larger picture their voices are contributing to. But I also reach people who are just interested in the subject of how to understand how sound affects us in our daily lives.
Voice overs are what I love (I've been doing this over 15 years full time now) - but I also want to do my best to raise all boats for those of us who work in sound. Audio shouldn't be the after thought in a production - and it often is. It's unfortunate - because paying attention to the sound early on - making it equally as important as the visuals - can make a so so production into something truly outstanding - because it'll reach us on a deep, emotional level. (You think I'm making this up? Try watching a movie without the sound on and see how emotionally invested you are in what's happening on the screen. Not much, am I right? I'm not a horror fan. If I turn off the sound on a horror movie, I can watch it just fine. 😉 )
“I don’t care what I have to do, they are not going to ignore me. So I would get up, I would walk around the room, I would stand on a chair in the middle of the room, I would shout, I would run, I would scream, I would kick things. If I was mad at the Devil, I would kick something. And if I was happy for Jesus, I would run around, woo hoo hoo! And I mean, people would just come out and be like, ‘Wow, I’ve never really seen anybody speak like you.’ And I’m just like, listen, if you’re not listening, I’m not speaking. So, I think Paul said something like, I’ll be a fool for Christ. His context was all of the troubles and trials and tribulations he’d gone through in life. But the context of the statement was, in order to reach people with this message, I’ll do whatever I have to do.” – Dennis Meador
My guest on this episode is the founder and CEO of The Legal Podcast Network, a turnkey podcasting, marketing, and content solution for the legal industry. With nearly thirty years in marketing, over twenty of those focused on white-collar industries, especially the legal sector, he brings extensive expertise in branding, podcasting, and beyond. His name is Dennis Meador, and in this two-part conversation, he’ll be sharing his take on branded podcasts and how they improve client engagement, and where he thinks podcasting for specific industries will head in the future.
As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com, where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, along with other interesting bits of audio-related news. And if you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help, and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.
(0:00:00) – Early Memories of Sound and Communication
We start things off with Dennis’s early memories of sound, including a gospel music tape he heard when he was just five years old. “It got to the point,” he recalls, “where, within a short amount of time, I had every song memorized off of that tape, both sides, every song front to back.” He shares his experiences with public speaking and what he’s learned about engagement and connecting with an audience. “I’ve spoken to two, three thousand a few times, something like that,” he explains, “and you just feel like you’re almost shouting into an abyss. Versus like that 300 to 500, you can almost feel the energy and see whether or not people are plugged in all across the whole room.”
(0:12:54) – Success in Sales and Podcasting
Dennis tells us about how he got into advertising and his insights into the industry. “You’re helping these businesses,” he tells us. “If you’re not ripping them off and you’re really producing the product, and it’s a good thing, then you’re helping these companies.” We talk about how social media has transformed the marketing landscape and the difference between having a large audience and an engaged audience. “If you have 50,000 downloads or views of a show,” he notes, “but they’re all over the world and no one calls you, it’s not nearly as valuable as having fifty people locally, ten of them calling you, and six hiring you. Fifty could be infinitely more valuable than fifty thousand.”
(0:23:34) – Marketing Strategies Through Video Content
The first half of our conversation closes with a look at the role of video in podcasting and how Dennis leverages it in the podcasts he produces. “Video is probably our most crucial part of this, honestly,” he explains, “because we can make reels, we can make stuff out of it and repurpose it.” He tells us more about that process and how he uses it to expand each client’s network. “We use the marketing from the video,” he says, “and so that just creates a lot of opportunities for us to market our clients into their database of people and into our ever-expanding database of people that are following us.”
Episode Summary
- Dennis’s passion for music and his formative experiences as a young pastor.
- How he segued into advertising, sales, and podcast marketing for lawyers.
- The crucial role video and audio elements play in expanding brand outreach.
Tune in for next week’s episode as Dennis and I discuss the early days of the Legal Podcast Network, his strategies for bringing old-fashioned attorneys into the streaming era, and how both AI and the media savvy of Gen Z and Alpha are reshaping the future of digital marketing.
Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:
Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com
Connect with me on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/
Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO
Connect with me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/
Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)
Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/
Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy
https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/
Editing/Production by Humberto Franco – https://humbertofranco.com/
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 – https://op3.dev/privacy
Vinnie Potestivo, Editor-in-Chief of
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