010: MIK MUSELETTER

We’re back with another edition of The MIK Museletter, your fortnightly must-read for industry insights and creative inspiration.?

Top Of Mind

Whether you’re a stand-up comedian, bus driver or marketer – good timing is everything.?

Engaging with consumers at the right time with the right message is an essential ingredient in a successful advertising campaign.?

A great example of this is 'Holding Out For Help’. As part of the campaign, Australians For Mental Health teamed up with Reuben Styles of Peking Duk to develop a freehold music library for Australian businesses to download. The music was embedded with messages highlighting the fact that while customers wait on hold, millions suffering from mental ill-health are waiting for help too.

So don’t forget, when and how are as important as what you share.?

What’s Got Us Talking

Instagram has added GIFs in Comments! Here at MIK Studio, we're huge believers in community management, and that means responding to every. single. comment on your owned channels. Comments should be seen as an opportunity to drive further engagement, continue brand storytelling, and foster true relationships with consumers to make them feel seen. We're also huge advocates for daily outbound community management including leaving comments on prospective customers, KOL's, and like-minded brands posts. When it comes to using GIFs, we love the untapped creative opportunities here and where these conversations could go!

Spotlight On MIK

This week we sat down with one of our talented audio producers, Nicholas Cummins .

What’s your favourite part of the audio production process??

It has to be the sound design element once we move a piece of audio into production, especially when working on 3D spots. 3D spots give more scope to get creative with sounds and push them around the stereo field, which is a lot of fun, and we usually get great reactions from the client with this type of work.?As the last piece of the puzzle in production, it's also nice seeing how everything comes together, from the initial idea that was developed with the brand, seeing the script come in (shoutout our copy team <3) through to the voiceover that we record, and the sound effects chosen for mixing/mastering the audio. It feels great piecing together a culmination of a lot of different elements and building the final audio piece that is ready to be delivered.

What makes a good audio ad??

The ads that stand out are those that really capture and communicate the brand's essence. Is it an ad for a luxury brand? Everything has to take the listener as close as possible to experiencing an element of that luxury for themselves. From the language in the copy, the timbre of the artist's voice, the music bed underneath the ad, and the use of sound effects that represent the brand, everything needs to be an extension of the best elements of the brand. There's no one size fits all approach though. Is the message of the brand something serious that needs to cut through the noise? A strong, factually written script delivered by a voiceover talent with empathy but also assuredness can demand attention and communicate that message clearly. Each ad calls for a different approach but as long as it's a genuine representation of the brand and an authentic extension of their campaign, you can't really miss.

What’s your proudest moment at MIK??

It's hard to pick one. Everything from Dylan Adams bringing me into the team in 2020 through to working on very creative spots for Coca Cola and global campaigns for Adidas that we rolled out in 10 languages stands out. Being trusted by everyone at MIK to move to London and contribute to the global growth of the company was also a very nice moment.

What’s got you excited about 2023??

Two things that I'm hyped to see happen with us in 2023. Firstly, refining and improving my sound design and mixing capabilities. There's so much content being pushed out in London alone, that standing out can be pretty tricky. Improving my personal craft and bringing some fresh ideas and approaches to the table will ensure we keep pushing out great work and keep working with great brands, clients, and people. Secondly, seeing where this year takes us. We're already working across Europe as well as in the UK but we've got some plans in check to continue to grow. I'm lucky enough to work with some great brains that are brewing good ideas and strategies for both MIK and the clients we work with alike. Only time will tell where this year can take us.

MIK is a creative studio providing 360° digital services. Based in Australia, working worldwide.?

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