Audemos have created bespoke sonic branding for the  ‘Future Now project’, a  Team within BBC Training and Development . Future Now are the BBC’s multiplatform training specialists and wanted branding for use across all their in house video and audio production.

Audemos were asked to create a sound that reflected the philosophy of Future Now. Creatively the brief was challenging, as it was necessary to work within the existing guidelines of the Training and development branding but the BBC team were encouraged to share ideas through the branding process, demanding something that was futuristic - but not technological, inclusive - but not patronising.

The finished results can be heard here: BBC Future Now Intro

We are delighted (really) to be creating audio guides to the South Downs. Audemos are producing six short audio guides to delight and enchant walkers, riders and visitors to the rolling hills of Southern England.

The series of short audio pieces is entitled ‘LANDSHAPERS’ and together they tell the story of how the Downs have evolved over 6000 years of human intervention to become one of Britain’s most celebrated landscapes. Richly textured with sound design, the audio guides feature renowned archaeologists, geologists, and ecologists as well as farmers, historians, shepherds and wood colliers (charcoal makers to you and me). The series will take listeners on a journey starting with the chalk formation on the sea beds of the cretaceous period, through the arrival of the first humans, the impact of the industrial ages and right up to date with modern agriculture.

The series of six programmes are currently in production and will be launched in the Summer of 2008. They will be available as downloads from www.visitsouthdowns.com, and distributed on MP3 players in Tourist information centres from Eastbourne to Winchester.

eMarketer says a number of factors are driving growth of the podcast user base:

• Greater ease of consumption for podcast content
• Growing awareness of podcasting
• Terrestrial radio’s use and promotion of podcasting
• Increased penetration of portable players
• The evolution of smart phones and proliferation of affordable mobile data plans

I wonder if podcasts will even be called podcasts in two years time.

Check the full report here.

More than 8 million people in the UK listen to web-based radio services every week and nearly 2 million download podcasts on a weekly basis, according to a survey that suggests internet radio has hit the mainstream.

These are interesting figures but:

“This survey is very much a toe in the water,” said the Rajar research director, Paul Kennedy.

More at the Guardian.

We just got some download figures back from the Discovery Channel and they are pretty pleasing. It seems the podcast has been downloaded 30,000 times - although we know that doesn’t mean it’s been listened to that many times.

The Diffusion Group reports that, based on their latest research, 11% of adult broadband users (some 12 million US consumers) listen to podcasts at least once per month. They also predict that the podcast audience will more than double in the next five years, to 24% of broadband users (38.5 million Americans) by 2012.

The story goes on to say that the expansion is being held back by 2 key factors, perception of complexity and lack of awareness of the wealth of content available.

Here’s some other key findings:

• Among those that listen to podcasts at least once per month, 68% use a portable device while 49% listen to them on a PC (an interesting insight given that many define podcasting as only a portable medium);
• On average, users listen to 5.4 podcasts per month on a portable device and 4.7 on a PC;
• On average, those who subscribe to podcast services are signed up for 4.1 different feeds; and
• 70% of users rely on iTunes to access podcasts.

Get the rest of the story at podcastingnews.com

Apple have just updated their Pro website with some nice articles on integrating sound to create more dynamic journalism.

There’s loads of technical advice and info on essential equipment and some stories from journalists who use sound in some pretty cool ways.

“Audio can really make you feel like you’re there” says Nhat Meyer, a photojournalist who creates audio slideshows (a mixture of still photos with ambient sound and audio interviews) for the award-winning Mercury News in San Jose, California. “It can be as simple as natural or ambient sound, or it can be informative, through interviews. It definitely provides a multidimensional view of an event.” A great example is Meyer’s audio slideshow depicting the record-breaking 715th home run by the San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds. “You can hear the crack of the bat” exclaims Meyer.

If you’d like to talk to Audemos about creating your own sound enhanced media, email or call for a free consultation.

Audemos recently signed a 12 month contract with Jack Brand Marketing to support them with music and sound production for the international beer brand Heineken.

Jack Brand creates and distributes content for different brands ranging from Haymarket Publishing through to Heineken and V2 records.

“It’s great to have Audemos working closely with Jack Brand as our business develops. With new clients coming on board it’s essential that we have the kind of professional skills they offer at hand so that we can respond to our clients requirements”

John Hazell, Jack Brands Commercial Director.

Audemos are very pleased to have been invited to take part in the Digital Integration Conference on the 6th of June. Simon Smith will be fielding questions from leaders in the marketing world on topics like:

Making money out of on-line marketing services
Integrating digital strategies
Online marketing – turning visitors into customers
Valuing digital assets – what your business may be worth?

Other speakers include Daniel Robb from Google, Daniele Fiandaca from Profero and Andrew Walmsley from i-level.

Tickets are still available via the Digital Integration Conference website.

Podcasting News has this little nugget of a story.

Business Week is hyping the advertising potential of podcasts, calling them The Next Big Ad Medium.

According to their analysis, podcasts are poised to grab a larger slice of the multibillion-dollar online advertising pie. They highlight research from eMarketer expects that advertisers will spend more than $400 million on podcasting by 2011, up from $80 million last year.

Let’s hope it’s quality rather than quantity. Podcasting is great for the right brand or product, but it’s not a perfect fit for all. There are a lot of companies out there happy to tell people that podcasts are for everyone and can be used to sell anything.

Give Audemos a call or email, and we’ll listen to your needs and your ideas. We’ll give you our honest and expert opinions, and not just because we want you as a client, but because we love creating cool shows.