When a brand loses its emotional impact, what’s the best way to bring it back? McDonald’s Germany’s Chief Marketing Officer asked us if we could do this with music.
Related Projects: MC Donalds Commercials here.
The brand’s long-established musical motif had lost its impact through a combination of time, familiarity and lack of consistency. Over the years, this familiar melody had been cut to a third of its original length, diminishing its power – clearly simply composing some new music for commercials was not enough.
We set out to rediscover the brand’s inner voice, starting with an extended sonic analysis to create a foundation for our strategy. Over a year, we analysed 1,000 TV and radio commercials to uncover the brand’s sonic intelligence. Then we created a quoting system to inspire everyone working with the brand and to consistently restate the instantly recognisable sonic ID.
To bring this to life in the real world we created the brand’s first audio style guide. From here, we composed music for dozens of commercials that explored many different genres, from rock’n’roll to tarantella and traditional Bavarian music. This allowed us to refine and finesse the sonic ID and restore the original full-length motif.
All this showed the brand’s sonic DNA, when properly managed, could be woven into any scenario. This was just what the client was searching for – more consistent, emotional and impactful sonic storytelling for McDonald’s. And the secret ingredient? Our unique recipe of strategy and artistry.
