ATB Sonic Branding
"To say that the team is both impressed and ecstatic about the new Sonic Identity System that you have developed for ATB would be the understatement of the year! In fact, it was all my entire squad could talk about today..."
ATB Associate Director, Culture to Brand
Awards
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Full case study film
ATB is a regional Canadian bank in a crowded market – where all banks use mnemonics, but none employ sonic strategy. Through our “music intelligence” process we revealed how sound could become a “blue thread” to tie the ATB experience across all touchpoints - and connecting the brand to a grassroots "bedroom pop" music genre and community that embodies the Powering Possibility spirit of ATB.
Unique Elements
Holistic
Sound
ATB has a "Sound"
Instead of just a mnemonic or jingle, ATB has the ultimate flexibility and audio options that work across any/all touchpoints
Sonic
Identity
System
4,500 Assets
ATB's Sonic Identity System provides assets for all potential content needs from TV to social to digital to POS
Molecular Sound
Sound of "Expertise"
"Expertise Well Shared" is the lifeblood of the ATB experience, so molecular sound weaves this across ATB's entire soundworld
Featured Artist : MUNYA
To anchor our sound and strategy, we created a "dream pop" single with Canadian-born artist Munya, a rising star who embodies our sonic DNA – dreamy vocals, ethereal soundscapes, and a visceral optimistic attitude. She worked closely with a team of songwriters to capture the exact sound and song structure we were looking for in our creative brief. Guided by ‘music intelligence’, we developed several songs with her and performed qualitative testing. Fortunately, all tracks outperformed across all audiences, but the incredibly specific feedback we received from different consumer groups on what musical elements elicited the strongest responses and why was creative direction gold. We applied all these learnings to the strongest candidate “Cloud Dance”, which evolved into a “best of” hybrid and subsequently tested off the charts with all audiences across all core strengths and with high cultural relevance.
Samples of her work..
Exploration Track
We did not want a one size fits all song, which is where most strategies end, but this song was a keystone to our larger strategy - a “center” around which we could build a truly flexible “Sonic Identity System”. We created 20 derivative tracks that evoke different emotions organized into libraries specific to ATB wealth, business or everyday customers – all of which was informed by earlier testing feedback. These libraries can be expanded upon over time by other bedroom pop artists via clear audio brand guidelines. This wide variety of related tracks were then developed into assets of all lengths and styles to meet any opportunity or need. Like a “VIS”, our “SIS” provides a clear set of rules that allow ATB to create new music with any artist or vendor as well as pull from curated production music libraries. We are not tying the brand to a single song– we’re giving them a soundworld with recognizable characteristics and lots of room to stretch, no handcuffs. This is future-proofing the brand with a guided, but limitless identity system.
Audio Brand Guidelines
Sonic Center "Bedroom Pop"
Bedroom Pop provides a musical center for the sound of ATB. This is a genre that derives its name from indie artists who create music in their bedrooms, away from the direction and backing of big record labels. Our journey to find the right sound for ATB was very research, analysis and insight driven. We used “music intelligence” and workshopped various ATB teams and focus groups to discover our sonic positioning in the market and define our sonic DNA. This eventually led us to “Bedroom Pop” a genre that reflects ATB in many ways and is thriving in Canada – led by highly passionate and motivated DIY artists who are “powering our own possibilities” by making hit songs in our bedrooms – not backed by big labels. Kind of like ATB’s not being part of the “big 6” but “powering possibilities” for our clients through our passion for sharing our expertise and discovery, we share common attributes with these artists – like resourcefulness, teamwork, curiosity, innovation, and community. Working with these artists as creators and for activations also provides ATB an opportunity to support Canadian culture with meaning rather than just hosting huge names in a big stadium.
Abridged Case Study Film
Client
ATB
Music Agency
Sonic Lens
Qualitative Research Agency
The Rebelles
Implicit Testing Agency
Sentient Decision Sciences
Executive Producers
Marco Vitali
Andy Ross
Creative Directors
Marco Vitali
Andy Ross
Jenn Manning
Eldon Kymson
Composers
Glen Cavanagh
Josie Boivin (aka MUNYA)
Marco Vitali