You hear it a lot when it comes to marketing and/or branding. “We need to create a message that will really rise above the noise” or “We don’t want it to become just white noise.”
white noise /ˌ(h)wīt ˈnoiz/ noun PHYSICS
1. noise containing many frequencies with equal intensities.
In my early years of audio engineering, I learned quickly about two methods of mixing audio, additive and subtractive. If I was responsible for running sound for a rock show and I knew a guitar solo was coming up, I had two options. I can push the fader (increase the volume) of said guitar, or I can pull everything else back just a tad and allow the sound of the guitar to rise to the top. One method adds to the overall noise level, the other just allows for what is truly important at the moment to stand out.
Is the strength of our message in how many words we say, or is it in the results we’ve garnered? We can say all we want about our intentions and our goals, but we have to let the results speak for themselves. Intentions don’t preach; results and actions do. Perhaps to be a little more seen and a little less heard we don’t need to concentrate on rising above the noise as much as pulling away from it. Or perhaps clearing it all together. If we are adding to the noise, we will be shut out.
So let us step back. Let’s pull back the fader. Instead of bloating your ads with promises and what you could or want to do. Do something under the radar and allow the results to speak for you. This will set you on a solid platform, and when the noise settles you will be all that stands out.
