Portfolio Progress

Over the past three weeks I have been developing my portfolio of sounds that will contribute towards the sonic universe of my fictional soft drink brand.

I have designed a 5 note sonic logo that will be consistent throughout all of the brand’s sonic elements. This is important to show consistency within my brand. Consistency is one of the most important attributes a brand can have. Consumers are more likely to trust in a brand that knows who they are and isn't continuously changing its appearance and sound. As my brand is a Scottish brand I have designed the sonic logo to subtly encourage a sense of patriotism within the consumer. The score of the sonic logo is actually the last 4 notes of the famous Scottish Anthem 'Loch Lomond' made famous by Runrig in 1983. This song is often played at the end of Scottish weddings or special occasions in general. It is therefore very well known and commonly highly regarded within Scottish culture. I have added a 5th note in the role of the penultimate note to create a larger contrast between the penultimate and last notes. I feel this compliments the perfect cadence of the logo. 

I have provided three versions of this sonic logo. The first is a solo piano rendition to simply exhibit the logo in its most basic form. The score of the logo is as follows…

A – G# - F# - G# - E

I have also provided a more decorated version of the logo. This version includes the addition of a bass guitar. This, as in most cases, is to add depth to the range of frequencies within the piece. There is also the addition of some synthesized female vocals. This is effective as it adds a human element to the brand. The listener can hear this and immediately relate to this element. There is a replica of this section but two octaves higher. This adds range to the frequencies within the music but also symbolizes a group of people working together. This supports the brand’s moral framework of teamwork.

I have also provided a third rendition of the sonic logo. This rendition would be used in any advertisements aimed at children. The choice of timbre in this piece is appropriate for an target audience of children. The piece features the use of a xylophone and a vibraphone. These are not commonly used instruments in popular music. They are, however, commonly used in schools for teaching music to young children. By relying on the memories children have of playing these instruments, the piece should naturally build a small connection between the brand and the children. Almost as though they are playing the logo themselves. They may even attempt to do so next time they are in music class, thus building upon the relationship between child and brand.

I have developed a piece of music that would be appropriate as part of a television advertisement for my soft drink brand during the festive period. I have an idea for the visual aspect of the advert and I have designed the music to reflect the mood of the advert's main character.

The advert will feature a young boy around the age of 8 years old. In the heart of a family Christmas party he is determined to have a sip of one of the adult's alcoholic beverages. He tries Dad and his beer, mum and her wine, grandfather and his whiskey. Even the family dog nudges his water bowl away from the young boy. Disgruntled, the young boy sits on the stairs in a bad mood. At this point his mother appears with a can/bottle of the fictional beverage. The little boy's face lights up. As this happens, the mood of the music changes to reflect this turn of events. The little boy is now happy because he everyone has their own beverage and he now has his. The scene ends with the little boy enjoying his beverage in the heart of the family room.

The first half of the music features a descending minor scale which has connotations of sadness. The descending scale also reflects the atonal characteristics of a sad sounding voice. In complete contrast to this, when the little boy receives the beverage, the music changes to an ascending major scale. This reflects the contrast in the little boys mood and the major scale is associated with happiness. The piece ends with a slow version of the sonic logo.

The use of the piano and the guitar is appropriate in reflecting the culture of Christmas as these are instruments that are normally associated with group singing. Christmas is a time when many people come together to sing traditional songs and carols. These are the to most common instruments used in at these events. There is also a cello providing the bass. This a very fluid sounding substitute for a bass guitar. It is also an acceptable instrument at this time of year when at other times it may not be. Various instruments are socially acceptable during the festive period more so than others. The french horn is a good example of this.

For future progress, I plan to include the vocals of a choir to emphasise the idea of people coming together around Christmas time. I also plan to acquire the voice of a middle-aged, well spoken, Scottish woman to use as a voice over. This type of voice will encourage the viewer to trust in the brand as they would their own mother. It is also effective as the mother in the advert is the instigator of the change in the little boy's mood.

The third piece I have recorded is the music designed for use in an advertisement on Spanish television.  The piece is structured around the brand's 5 -note sonic logo. It is recorded at a tempo of 148 BPM. The piece is played using acoustic guitar, bass guitar and brass instruments. These instruments are commonly found with in Spanish cultural music. There is also the addition of a micro-tambourine that provides part of the percussion of the track.
The piece features a repetition of the sonic logo as the main melody of the tune. The sonic logo is played on lead acoustic guitar which contributes towards the spanish sound. An additional guitar harmonises with the 5th note of the logo on each repetition. This helps to add variety to the last notes of each repetition and prevents the piece from sounding repetitive. Also two different notes working together to make a pleasant sound symbolises two different people working together for an effective outcome.

I think these developments contribute towards a solid base for my practice based research progress. I plan to build upon these pieces in the future before including them in my final portfolio.

Coca-Cola Christmas Advert Analysis

Coca-Cola has taken full advantage of the western world's fascination with Christmas. So much so that the image of Santa Claus was actually coined by Coca-Cola. Many people don't even feel like it's Christmas until they see the iconic Coca-Cola advert with the delivery lorries travelling through snow filled streets. 

Accompanying this image is Coca-Colas own Christmas theme tune that features the vocals of a choir. This is more effective than a solo singer as the western culture around Christmas time traditionally features groups of people singing Christmas carols together. The choir repeats the line “Holidays are coming.” This is deliberate as saying “Christmas is coming” would alienate the Coca-Cola consumers who do not celebrate Christmas. The repetition of this phrase is consistent throughout the advert. It is therefore very difficult not to be aware that the holidays are in fact “coming” when we’re being told it over and over for an entire minute. This repetitions also helps to build excitement that the holidays are coming.

In amongst the body of the choir there are smaller groups of singers (maybe 3 or four people) singing very cleverly written lyrics. These lyrics include "T'is the season" which is normally used in the Christmas song 'T'is the season to be jolly' and "watch out" as heard in the traditional Christmas song 'Santa Claus is coming to town. The latter song is again exploited as the singers sing "something is coming to town." If by this point it wasn't clear that Coca-Cola wasn't comparing themself with the arrival of Santa Claus then they persist by singing "something magic, in the night. Can you see it shining bright?"

On top of all of this, the company’s two part slogan “Always the real thing – Always Coca-Cola” is repeated in what sounds almost like subliminal messaging gone wrong, excluding the last and final rendition.

The sounds of this TV advertisement are very effectively designed to harness the emotion of Christmas, specifically through the perspective of a child. In amongst the music there are various glissandos of high frequencies to emphasis the visuals, for example, Christmas tree lights switching on. These glissandos have connotations of magic, as they are commonly used to portray the act of vanishing or appearing.

The combination of all of these elements creates a very effective piece of music for a Christmas themed advert.

Fictional Sponsorship

Today I spoke with a graphic design student who is designing a brand of soft drink for her honours project. We discussed the possibility of collaborating in a way that we can both benefit from our similar projects. I suggested that I could use her brand as the image for my project and in return she could use my sonic universe as the sound for her brand. 

As I mentioned in a previous update,  it is clear that Coca-Cola persistently associate their brand with many large world events. Examples of these events include the 2010 World Cup, the EURO 2012 cup, the 2012 Olympics and even Christmas and the image of Santa Claus himself.

Coca-Cola's sponsorships of these events inspired a fictional sponsorship for my own brand. I plan to design an advertising campaign that will exist as a fictional sponsorship of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth games. I think this is appropriate as the brand will be established in Scotland and will be culturally appropriate when promoting the games in Scotland.

Research Proposal Feedback

I received my grade for my recently submitted Research Proposal.
The work was graded as a B which I am happy with.
However, the specific feedback I received about the work made me realise something. I have been focusing on the psychological aspect of the sounds and how they affect the consumer. I really should be focusing on the cultural aspects and how they contribute towards effective sonic branding.
Therefore, I have decided to change the title of my project to 'Successful sonic branding and the cultural aspects that contribute towards it.'

Despite the title and aim of my project changing, the methodology and research methods will remain the same. This is a natural evolution of my progress thus far and I am confident it will be a satisfactory project.

Coca-Cola Case Study

I will be using two research techniques to execute my project. This first of these is a case study.

I have chosen to analyse the sonic branding aspect of Coca-Cola's popular 'Open Happiness' advertising campaign. Coca-Cola have a very successful history with regards to sonic branding however, this history is far to expansive to analyse in the time I have available. Therefore, the case study will focus on the more recent aspects of the brand's sonic branding. 

The case study will examine Coca-Cola's advertising during major world events such as the 2010 World Cup and the London 2012 Olympics. It will also analyse the 5 note sonic logo that Coca-Cola insist on including within their music. 

Here is an example of the type of advertisement the case study will be focusing on. This is Coca-Cola's advertising campaign for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in which they acquired the music of a relatively unknown South African singer/songwriter by the name of K'naan. 

I will also plan on exhibiting some practice based research methods by creating and producing some sonic branding for a fictitious drink brand based in Scotland. The sounds created for this brand will be inspired by the results of the Coca-Cola case study.