Behind the Skala FM 2012 Jingles

Morten Petersen, Imaging Director of Skala FM Denmark, has gotten in touch with us to say how happy he is with his station’s new jingles from Wise Buddah. It was a long process as you’ll read below, but it was all worth the effort in the end.

“For more than one and a half years, Skala FM’s new sound has been in the making. It may seem like a long time, but the process of making the right decision was very important for us. We knew roughly what we wanted, but how did it fit into our core-listeners mind? Would our thoughts and desires repel or attract them?

The process started with listening to jingles from all over the world in order to gather the elements that best suited for us and then presenting it in focus groups throughout the winter of 2010. More than 100 listeners were invited. They gave their opinion about jingles and imaging, and it turned out to be beneficial for the station.

We knew some things from the previous package that worked well for our station should be integrated into our new package. (I think there are very few stations that are lucky to have listeners sing the top of hour when they see a logo for the station, or meet one of the DJs somewhere.)

Once all the lessons learned from the focus groups were brought to the table, we made a 15-page brief to Wise Buddah who produced package. The jingles, the instruments and the style were explained down to the smallest detail so it was easy and understandable to work with.

After 6 months we finished composing the package, so we headed out to a studio in Denmark, far out in the country to do the vocal session. After 3 days of singing and fun with the company of good friends we were ready to head back to the studio in London to mix the package.

The result – Skala FM 2012

The project may seem like it took a very long time, but the more I think of the way we did it, the more convinced I am we did the right thing. One thing is to call a jingle-company and order a new jingle package, another thing is to actually work with the composer and get him to understand our thoughts.

To work with such dedicated people just makes the process so much easier.

Everytime I listen to my jingles I get a feeling of ‘we’ve hit the exact 2012-sound for our station’. There´s nothing left to chance. And I´m sure the sound will take us onto the next level imaging-wise.”

Morten can be reached at mop@jv.dk should you wish to discuss or find out any more about the process.

Skala FM 2012 Jingle Team from left to right: Morten Petersen (Imaging Director), Marc Vickers (Wise Buddah), Mette Trudslev (Vocalist), Brian Ebbesen PD, Daniel Sitrit (Vocalist)