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.
