Abstract
ATB asked for a mnemonic, but instead we crafted a holistic “sound” they can own, plugged them into a cultural movement with a breakout dream pop artist and community design to generate future opportunities, and turned sound into their primary tool for repositioning their brand. ATB now has the most holistic “sonic identity system” in banking.
Description
Alberta Transaction Bank “ATB” came to us looking for a mnemonic to sign off their communications. In the initial consulting phases of our “music intelligence” process we revealed how sound could become a “blue thread” to tie the ATB experience across all touchpoints using a more holistic approach. A mnemonic would be a keystone, but it would be part of a much more comprehensive “sonic identity system” (SIS) that provides a holistic “sound” for the brand and solutions for any potential needs.
Through extensive research and analysis, we provided perspective and strategy around the sonic landscape and our visualizations allowed us to workshop their sonic DNA. We uncovered opportunities for music to play a lead role in repositioning the brand from “caregiver” to “sage” in order to stand out from every other Canadian bank. All banks promise the same benefits, but ATB’s competitive advantage is their “differentiated experience” – defined by their communal human approach to “sharing expertise” to “power possibility” for their clients – clear “sage” attributes.
We learned a lot by studying how other sage brands like Google, Audi, and IBM manage to evoke our core attributes through their use of sound. Unlike the financial brands, these best of breed brands were practicing clear sonic strategies with great success. Some clear lessons that would help us escape the sea of sameness of banks included finding a unique contemporary style instead of overused retro and familiar genres and taking a song approach to scoring content. And as “warmth” is a top requirement for bank brands, we found while all banks take a very traditional, light acoustic approach, sage brands achieved even better results against our metrics with dreamy vocals, airy pads and creative instrumentation, with the bonus of evoking innovation and possibility.
Our strategy led us to “bedroom pop” and we worked with breakout Canadian artist Munya, creating a song we refined with feedback from qualitative testing. The sound itself resonates strongly with our brand attributes, and the movement of resourceful DIY artists reflects ATB’s strengths and opens opportunities to support Canadian culture and success stories. This became the backbone of a robust sonic identity system, inspiring 20 additional derivative tracks of various styles and instrumentations, all tied to our recognizable sound and signature elements. And for our mnemonic, instead of creating a simple “earworm” like every other bank, ATB’s mnemonic tells their brand story of “expertise, well shared” with sound.
The result is an accurate, flexible, modular system of organized, ready to use assets that provides a solution for any imaginable need across all touchpoints, irrespective of length, style, or emotional function. Now ATB has a future-proof ‘system’ and strategy that lifts and connect their brand everywhere, in a unique way that elicits their strengths, resonates with their consumers, and sets them apart.
