What is Sensible Audio?
The new pay-off
Introduction: Audiofile & On the Border
The group of customers who know us know that, in addition to Audiofile, we have another company. A company operating in a different market, with different services and different customers (b2b). The similarity? Both are super fun to do!
On the Border (OTB) consults, coaches and trains small and medium-sized companies in being ‘completely‘ successful.
Perhaps a bit strange, but OTB has helped Audiofile in the transition to being completely successful. And in the context of ‘practice what you preach’, we are now implementing what On the Border advised us.
Our Daniëlla
Since Daniëlla joined Audiofile (and OTB), not only has a lot changed in general, but some of these changes are the direct result of the way Audiofile now looks at being completely successful.
Daniëlla’s arrival has also ensured that Audiofile was put under the microscope. Who are we (really)? What do we want to achieve (exactly)? And how are we going to achieve that (realistically)? A series of questions that I had to answer from her at the time.
“…On the Border helps small and medium-sized businesses to be completely successful…”
Raison d’être?
The first step was to redefine Audiofiles pay-off. (a.k.a. slogan to strengthen the brand).
With the aim to communicate with our (soon to be) customers in a clear, recognizable and consistent way. And with the aim to make the content of the communication distinctive and therefore unique.
“…Ever since the launch of Audiofile in 2012, Audiofile has been aware that differentiation, translated into value creation for its customers, must be the raison d’être for Audiofile…”
The criteria
In all honesty, meeting the criteria was not easy:
- Pretty easy. Come up with a catchy pay-off to embellish the logo, but which you as a company do not act on.
- Relatively easy. Come up with a nice pay-off that you do act on, but which most customers have no use for.
- A hell of a job. Come up with a pay-off that you live for, act on and which also has an impact on your customers.
Hats off again to our Daniëlla. During a heated discussion about this, she silenced the room with her inspiration. After the silence came the realization. And the realization has now been converted into the new Audiofile pay-off.
Sensible Audio
With the arrival of the new pay-off, our old logo had to be adjusted. The new logo now has two rounded corners. The two rounded corners stand for something. They stand for two new course pillars. You can read it at the bottom left of the logo. Our new pay-off. You know, Daniëlla’s inspiration that caused a moment of silence.
Sensible Audio is what it became. Sensible Audio always has two meanings. Sensible Audio conscientiously links these two meanings to one another.
Sensible Pillar One
Explanation Sensible Pillar 1
The first pillar represents everything that is tangible. Not unusual if listening to music is your hobby, right? Everything that feels good musically, that should ensure a high goosebump factor. Music is emotion, music is coming home, music is coming to yourself. There are only a few people who have a beautiful audio set for other reasons than that.
By the way, the marketing departments of manufacturers write about this with great enthusiasm. If you buy our beautiful audio products, we guarantee you musical enjoyment at the highest level. Now, we are not averse to this. However…
…Are these products, which are conveniently ‘pitched’ to you as the best, really that good? Maybe. Maybe not.
But does marketing know you? Is marketing aware of your (latent) wishes and needs? And if marketing does not know you, do you know your own wishes and needs? And if so, how have you validated that?
That is why we believe that it is more important to invest more time in the process leading up to that best feeling than to focus too much on the end result, the feeling. There is no arguing with that, right? Fact based with emotion…
Sensible Pillar Two
If the first sensible pillar describes the result area (feeling, emotion, experience, coming home, coming to yourself, goosebumps) then the second sensible pillar should be about what needs to happen to achieve that.
What is the process? What does that process look like? And how does Audiofile distinguish itself from its competitors in this respect?
Audiofile quote: “…To achieve the highest result in terms of emotion, we will have to switch off our feelings for a short while…”
Paradoxical, is it not? You want to feel emotion, but you’re not allowed to use it (for a while).
Talking about switching off for a short time. Our greed to buy something does contribute to feeling but not to results. The same goes for reading a lot of Google reviews beforehand. You become biased, which makes you no longer reliable. To yourself.
The second pillar is about being ‘fact-based‘. FACT-BASED. It’s about an intellectual approach, a dry approach, a realistic approach. Not influenced by emotions instilled by third parties. And not influenced by reading nice reviews. Unless you want to be cognitively burdened.
Sensible pillar 2 contains measurable criteria that will help you make the sensible choice. The fact-based approach will guide you in a structured way to the end result. You know; the feeling of coming home every time you listen to your favorite music tracks. Because that’s what it’s all about, right?
After going through the process properly, you purchase audio equipment that directly contributes to that most beautiful feeling. The feeling of coming home every time while you are already home. The feeling of being there without being aware of it. The feeling of not being part of the environment for a while, except for the music that is there at that moment…
Resume
The Audiofile pay-off “Sensible Audio” aims to be complete. For you. This completeness is essential in our opinion. For you. The interplay of completeness is also essential in our opinion. Again for you. This completeness merges process and result, so fact-based and feeling.
“…Sensible Audio merges process and result…”
Audiofile already introduced the AGA. The Audiophile Hearing Analysis. Unique in its kind, aimed at providing fact-based advice.
Audiofile is about to introduce the 4Q listening model. A revolutionary way of assessing audio components. Especially for you. So that Audiofile can give you fact-based advice.
Audiofile is about to introduce the 4Q profile. A unique 3D digital interactive way to find out what your current audio balance looks like. And to what extent it deviates from your desired profile. So that Audiofile can give you leading fact-based advice…
Effective?
Whether our translation of the Sensible Audio pay-off will be effective remains to be seen. Whether our well-intentioned fact-based approach will actually help you make sensible/intelligent choices. Time will tell.
Until then, all we have left to do is what was described earlier. “Practice what you preach”. Or in Brabant: “niet lullen, maar poetsen”…
