“Yeah, so I started writing songs for speakers to walk on stage to their own song, and then when they had their sizzle reel, people would hear their song again. And then if they went to a training, you know, they would hear the song again. And so there was this audio consistency that also had the effect of lifting the person, the speaker themselves. They would say to me, you know, ‘When I walk on stage to my own song, it’s like, I don’t show up small. This is who I have to be to walk on stage to like, mind switch, I’m ready to fly.’ Right? And they’re, you know, they are making their brand. People are walking out of there with their song stuck in their head, not a Katy Perry song.” – Lowry Olafson
This episode’s guest is a professional songwriter who has toured the globe, released nine albums, and led over six hundred songwriting sessions with more than 15,000 speakers, entrepreneurs, and businesses. He helps his clients make a bigger dent in the universe by creating their own signature song to build trust, authority, and connection – and to make their message literally unforgettable.
His name is Lowry Olafson, and he’s created something called a SongBrand. We’ll be talking about how businesses and individuals can use a SongBrand, and how his background has led to a unique form of songwriting that allows his clients to communicate their truth with the world.
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(0:00:00) – The Power of Sound Branding
Our conversation starts with a look back at Lowry’s earliest memories of sound and what drew him to a career in music. “My earliest memory of making my own music,” he says, “was, as maybe a three-year-old, on the prairies and uh, listening to the meadowlarks and trying to imitate them, whistling, trying to imitate them.” We talk about some of the musicians who most influenced him, such as Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot, and how he’s helping bring sonic branding down from commercial jingles to a more personal level. “It used to be that the only people that could afford to do this,” he says, “were the big people that, you know, had big advertising, big advertising budgets, and TV and radio and stuff. But the fact is, your average coach is using music in all kinds of ways.”
(0:12:51) – Creating Personalized Power Songs
Lowry discusses his process for creating a personal audio brand for a client, and how he collaborates with them to come up with just the right sound. “We start to nuance it,” he explains, “and change a word here and there and do things like that, until we really feel like we’ve nailed it and they love it, and I love it too.” He shares an example of a client’s audio theme, “Make Medicare Simple,” and talks about his work with industries as far-ranging as Retirement coaches and Meditation guides. “We have a strategy meeting,” he tells us, “and talk about how we’re going to implement it because I want to make sure these songs get used, and that they’re always finding new ways to use their song.”
(0:17:49) – Inspiring Branding Through Music
As the first half of our conversation concludes, Lowry shares one particularly compelling song brand that helped a client reconnect with his past. “For him, it was particularly meaningful,” he recalls, “because he used to be a baseball player, and he’d kind of lost sight of that part of his life and forgotten about it… And I’m saying like, well, that’s pretty cool, bring your A-game. And so that was what I ended up writing.” We talk about his music and marketing careers, and how each has helped him excel in the other. “When I play a concert,” Lowry explains, “I’m trying to make people feel things. I want to lift them and inspire them and do that. And I think that we can do that even in branding.”
Episode Summary
Stay tuned for next week’s episode as we continue to talk about Lowry’s thoughts on the AI revolution, we explore the enduring impact of sound over other forms of marketing, and as Lowry discusses some of his most memorable SongBrand projects and his work on an upcoming album.
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