From: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org (alloy-digest) To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V4 #146 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Sender: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Tuesday, May 18 1999 Volume 04 : Number 146 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Alloy: Cheskin Research and Beatnik Inc. Deliver Online Sound... [RThurF@] Alloy: (OT) reply to Ian's world... [RThurF@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 12:53:06 EDT From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Alloy: Cheskin Research and Beatnik Inc. Deliver Online Sound... More Beatnik news!! I'm currently re-reading DaVinci's notebooks for the twelve thousandth time & am just in the middle of his discussion of the way the human mind reacts to input through the various senses... how amazing that this news piece should come today! Weird weird weird!! Robin T high priestess of the perpetually amazed Cheskin Research and Beatnik Inc. Deliver Online Sound and Brand Study New Findings Illustrate Importance of Sound in Extending Brands Online REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheskin Research, a premier full service market research firm, and Beatnik Inc., the leader in interactive audio technology on the Internet, today released the results of a study on the relationship between sound and brand identity on the Web. The study, a collaboration by the two companies, revealed that brand audio signatures can have the same brand recognition and convey equal brand attributes as the visual brand identity alone. Detailed information about the study and its findings can be viewed on the Web at ( http://www.cheskin.com/think/thinking.html ). "Companies who have made a significant investment in audio branding are ignoring a tremendous marketing opportunity," states Davis Masten, a principal of Cheskin Research. "Those companies that are able to lead with audio on the Web and establish their brands as a media rich experience will have the advantage." The study also found that poorly designed audio branding that didn't convey similar attributes as the visual identity could actually have a negative effect on the perception of the brand. "We've known through our history in brand research and development that a brand has numerous points of interaction, from the logo to the experience of the product itself," explains Darrel Rhea, another Cheskin Research principal. "Failure at any one of these points to support positioning can definitely have a detrimental effect on the success of a brand." The research study was conducted nationally and consisted of quantitative one-on-one interviews. Respondents were asked to rate brand attributes based on sound only, visual identity only or a combination of both. The brands chosen for the study included Intel, NBC, and Headspace (now Beatnik Inc.). "Not only does sound enhance brand, it adds a more compelling level of sensory experience that keeps viewers "stuck" on Web sites," explains Thomas Dolby Robertson, founder of Beatnik. "The Internet space is ripe for this kind of opportunity. With the rapid development of sound technologies on the Web, developers can create a truly media rich interactive experience." The importance of the findings in this study extends beyond the Internet. Small personal devices with limited visual real estate and low resolution, such as the Palm, can leverage sound to provide more information and stronger brand communication. As Masten concludes, "The effective use of sound and audio branding will be the a significant step in the evolution of marketing on the Web." "The results of the study clearly illustrate the importance of sound on the Web," said Lorraine Hariton, President and CEO of Beatnik Inc. "By providing the technology and music content that creative professionals need, Beatnik is poised to deliver the tools companies need to be a vital presence on the Internet." About Cheskin Research Cheskin Research is a full service market research firm with over 50 years of experience in the consumer research field. Using innovative and exploratory research tools, as well as traditional techniques, Cheskin Research is reinventing market research to meet the challenge of an evolving market structure. The Company is recognized for contributing to competitive breakthroughs in new product development, branding, positioning and packaging, and serves as a primary research provider for many Fortune 500 clients. More information can be found on the World Wide Web at ( http://www.cheskin.com ). About Beatnik, Inc. From its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Beatnik Inc. delivers interactive audio software technology and musical content for the Web. The Beatnik audio engine has been licensed to an expanding family of strategic partners, including Sun Microsystems, Oracle/NCI, Intel, NetObjects, Macromedia, Be, Inc. Its Rich Music Format (RMF) is a platform-independent standard for music and audio on the Internet. By coupling expert engineering skills with an expanded catalogue of musical content, Beatnik Inc. is dedicated to realizing new possibilities for interactive music and audio within multimedia on the Internet. Beatnik Inc. (formerly known as Headspace) was formed in 1993 with a team of musical innovators and world-renowned visionary, musician and composer Thomas Dolby Robertson. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 17:56:22 EDT From: RThurF@aol.com Subject: Alloy: (OT) reply to Ian's world... In a message dated 5/15/99 8:43:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time, igifford@hotmail.com writes: :: I had a dream that night where my Mother came and spoke to me about her new state of existence, since then I have been the typical type A virgo and bustin' ass to get involved with music. :: Sorry to be OT once again... but I'd love to address this topic if I may. For a long time I've been interested in the dreams people have had of their departed relatives and friends. After a very good friend of mine died of AIDS years ago, and then again after my dad's death, I had a very vivid dream several months after the death about each person. The dreams were each very distinctive, like the people themselves, and both times I felt as if I'd really communicated with them & been in their presence, & was filled with a sense of peace as well as relief to have 'seen' them again & had certain things explained to me. I've long wondered what the nature of such dreams are... I only know that lots of people from all different cultures around the world have them. It would be of real interest to me to read as many stories of such events as possible, so I'd love to ask for those who've had these 'visitation' type dreams, could you possibly write them out and send them to me? They can be your own dreams or even those your friends have had. Also, can you include the effect this dream had upon the dreamer (a sense of being comforted, frightened, mystified, etc)? How did various aspects of the dream compare to the person as you knew them in life? Sorry for such a strange OT topic... but I'd really love to hear stories about this. I'm going to save them in a book as the beginnings of research I plan to do once I go back to university for Anthro next year (added to a few other such stories I've collected from others over the years) I like anonymity, so I'll never, ever use your name in any paper which may result from my research. You can even post anonymously from some other email address if you like. My unending thanks for those who wish to help me on this! :) Robin T ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V4 #146 ***************************