Description
When Santander launched their new mission statement in March 2014, they engaged CORD to develop a clear and defined music strategy. The premise of ‘Simple Personal Fair’ was that a scene, person or object could be succinctly described in three words. Santander wanted to improve musical consistency across time, territory and touchpoint, increase brand recognition and create valuable music assets for the brand. To inspire a musical representation of the brands personality, Santander and WCRS stakeholders took part in a number of CORD-lead musical briefing sessions.
A variety of musical styles, textures, and instrumentation-types were stress tested against existing and new Santander collateral. A handful of tracks were selected as reference tracks, deconstructed and analysed. These final audio references, alongside key brand information were included in a music brief which was shared with some of the world’s finest talent. David Lowe, a composer of some of the most iconic brand themes of the decade, was selected to develop the Santander theme. We explored its musical flexibility of David’s theme using multiple versions of key hooks and musical phrases across a range of music genres. Next the final deliverables were recorded and produced under CORD’s supervision.
The brand’s new theme is called The Santander Way and woven into the fabric of this piece is a memorable 7-note hook is musically aligned to the personality of Santander.‘The Santander Way’ was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and captured in a making-of film that has been shared internally. The brand’s new musical theme has been used in every brand communication across a number of territories, creating a consistent global sound. Santander can now improve time and cost effectiveness in its global music choices and across the production process. The CORD team now acts as the guardian of the brand’s musical identity and is helping Santander to uncover further opportunities around music and sound.