Executive Director of Music & Audio
Wunderman Thompson
What trends, developments or issues would you point to thus far in 2023 as being most significant, perhaps carrying implications for the rest of this year and beyond?
There continues to be a great trend of brands wanting and asking for “sonic identity” or “sonic branding”. Across our global network there have been requests to create sonic signatures and music unique to the brand. Clients have seen their competitors jump into this with success and then realize they need to do it too. The data shows the brands that have a sonic identity have more recall and recognition and now brands are asking for it to be included in the brand strategy. This is happening across all touchpoints, not just traditional media and brand website as they have been in the past. It has become more ubiquitous.
What’s the biggest takeaway or lessons learned from work (please identify the project) that you were involved in this year? Or if you prefer, what’s the biggest takeaway or lessons learned from work you were involved in that won, was or is in the running for current awards season consideration (i.e., Emmys, Cannes Lions, AICP Awards, etc.)
Our recent work for Gold Peak Tea (Coca Cola ) was a true team effort across agency disciplines and our client. We were able to solve a very tricky music situation with great input and communication between the agency and our client to get a great outcome.
Have you been involved or experimented with AI, AR or other emerging disciplines or new technologies? If so, relative to experimental or actual projects, briefly tell us about the work and what you’ve taken away from the experience. If the work is complete and you’d like to share a link to it, please include.
Lately there have been a number of inquiries about generative AI for music creation. While there have not been any current projects that have gone forward, there have been a number of explorations in the ability to use generative AI to create music that is “good, fast, and cheap”. So far it seems only “fast and cheap” are on the table, but the real issues are rights and liability. How do agencies police machine creations of original compositions that might accidentally infringe on a copyright? Right now our industry has not set the playing field so it will be tough to navigate over the near term. As far as quality goes, while AI tracks might not be great now, they will probably get better over time. Hopefully the end result will be that AI becomes a useful tool for human music creators rather than just algorithms and keyword inputs .
Have any societal issues–including DEI, recent Supreme Court decisions and/or recent backlash against advertisers like Target (for Pride merchandise) and Bud Light (for marketing featuring a transgender influencer)–impacted the way you do business, company policies and/or selection of projects/creative content?
Not really, other than the recent court decision involving Ed Sheeran’s alleged plagiarism of a Marvin Gaye song. That had potential to impact our business in some ways on how we source and create music for ads. The court found that he did not plagiarize the song in question.
What work (advertising, entertainment, documentary, etc.)–your own or others–struck a responsive chord with you so far this year and why?
Our work for The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS). It was a powerful series of films that put the issue at the forefront of the concerns of our society. The work was an important message and was awarded at Cannes.
While gazing into the crystal ball is a tricky proposition, we nonetheless ask you for any forecast you have relative to content creation and/or the creative and/or business climate for the second half of 2023 and beyond. (250 words max)
I’m hoping that as economic issues continue to improve and the fears of a recession abates, brands will be willing to commission more work and bigger productions. I also think that AI will impact how we create content and I hope it can be a useful tool in many ways.
Has the first half of 2023 caused you to redefine or fine tune the goals of your company–and if so, in what way(s)?
The first half of 2023 was challenging in that most times we were tasked to deliver more for smaller budgets and I think that is a trend that will continue for a while. It makes it more important than ever to has trusted partners in the community that can help deliver high quality work for budgets that are less than what they should be.
Immersion In Sight, Sound and Story At Sphere
Live sports and cinematic storytelling meshed earlier this month (9/14) at Sphere, the revolutionary new entertainment venue in Las Vegas. UFC 306, Sphere’s first live sports event, brought mixed martial arts boxing matches together with the world premiere of a film--For Mexico, For All Time--which played out in six 90-second chapters in between the bouts on the UFC pay-per-view card. Each chapter focused on a different period in Mexican history and its influence on shaping Mexican identity. Shown on the massive interior display of Sphere, For Mexico, For All Time was created by filmmaker Carlos López Estrada and produced by Valerie Bush via Antigravity Academy, and co-produced by Nexus Studios. Sound designer, supervising sound editor and lead re-recording mixer Drazen Bosnjak and his team at New York-headquartered Q Department brought their creative and technical wherewithal to For Mexico, For All Time, dovetailing with the sound ensemble at Sphere and indie composer Germaine Franco. They contributed to what turned out to be the highest grossing UFC event of all time, and the highest grossing single event at Sphere, playing before a sold out crowd of 16,024. López Estrada, whose work as writer-director on Raya and the Last Dragon earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film in 2022, described For Mexico, For All Time as “a larger-than-life project,” referring to its size and scope--on varied fronts. For one, Sphere houses the world’s highest resolution LED display coupled with a 167,000 speaker audio system, facilitating an immersive multi-sensory experience. López Estrada’s studio, Antigravity Academy, had a steep learning curve relative to the process of creating and producing a film that... Read More