We Uncover so Much Opportunity to Break New Ground in Sonic Branding: Marco Vitali on How ‘Music Intelligence’ Approach Has Earned Sonic Lens a Premium Position in the Market

Sonic Lens is a next generation sonic branding agency that operates at the intersection of marketing and music. The agency’s ‘music intelligence’ approach can be credited to the unique background of its founder, Marco Vitali. Marco is an award-winning audio branding specialist, creative director, music producer and recording artist who has crafted some of the world’s most impactful sonic brands from Coke to Chase to Colgate. Transform named him both “Creative Director of the Year” and “Brand Strategist of the Year” for his revolutionary work in sonic branding, and all projects completed under the banner of his agency Sonic Lens have been awarded Gold.

In an exclusive interview with SME Business Review, Marco Vitali discussed how ‘music intelligence’ keeps Sonic Lens at the forefront of sonic branding evolution. Here’s Mr. Vitali’s response.

Interview Excerpts

Could you provide a brief overview of the history and development of Sonic Lens?

Sonic Lens is totally unique in our industry. After running several sonic branding agencies for other people, including a partnership with music legend Nile Rodgers, I launched Sonic Lens to deliver a more strategic approach to sonic branding – to fill the important consulting role that was missing in the traditional process. I recognized the need for more strategy behind audio branding years ago when I was running the US division for the biggest global sonic branding agency and got a good look behind the curtain. Nobody in the sonic branding field was putting any analytical rigor or actionable strategy behind their creative work. I just felt like sonic branding was stuck and believed that my uniquely diverse experience across music (Juilliard/Nile Rodgers), marketing (NYU MBA), and analysis (Wall Street) would enable me to find a better way.  

I spent about a decade developing my “music intelligence” process while overseeing the sonic branding of all projects you see in the graph. Sonic Lens was not launched until I was confident music intelligence had been fully developed and proven in the marketplace. I spun it off of my partnership with Nile Rodgers in 2019 and have won gold for every project since. Although we’re smaller than most of our competitors, our dedication to this process has made us the most lauded in industry awards. We are proving that putting real strategy in place to guide creative is the key to the best and most effective work, and that’s what we do better than anyone else. 

How does Sonic Lens stay at the forefront of sonic branding evolution, and what makes your sonic identity systems the most sophisticated in the world?

What keeps us at the forefront of the sonic branding evolution is the consulting and workshopping part of our process called “music intelligence.” It’s our competitive advantage and we are a good 10 years ahead on this curve. It allows us to provide what is missing in the market – a marketing lens that enables clients and agencies to understand the sonic landscape and craft a sonic strategy. This ultimately leads to “sonic identity systems” that serve the entire brand instead of just a mnemonic to stick at the end of their ads.

A “Sonic Identity System” (SIS) is the audio equivalent of a “VIS” or “visual identity system”, assets and rules every brand sets up to cover all situations. Unlike other sonic agencies who jump right into creative, we consider every touchpoint and every potential opportunity and build this into our sonic strategy. Clients receive an organized system of asset toolkits as well as guidelines on how to use them or create more assets in the future. Some projects result in hundreds of assets, all related but unique, to service the many roles of sound across all touchpoints. So far, we have left every brand client with the most comprehensive and sophisticated SIS in their industry – from global TV networks to banks to FMCGs. There is a severe lack of sonic strategy in branding, so the opportunities to do more are limitless!

How does Sonic Lens help brands use music strategically and empower them in their marketing efforts?

Music has a history of being used tactically instead of strategically in advertising and branding. It has always been an ‘add-on’ feature, playing a supporting actor role. What we do is set the table so music can have a seat in the larger marketing mix where it belongs. We allow music to be a strategic consideration for marketers without requiring any knowledge of music. Our tools allow them to treat sound like any other marketing variable and integrate its potential into their larger business goals – in my opinion like having another queen on the chessboard. This is the consulting role that does not exist at any client, agency or music vendor other than Sonic Lens.  

We empower clients’ marketing efforts by uncovering all the hidden opportunities and the competitive advantages we can create around sound. Without our help, clients cannot possibly know what’s possible or how to build a sonic strategy. The fact that brands or their agencies still write their own creative briefs for sonic branding and then go to music houses to execute these is problematic. This keeps our whole discipline in the tactical bubble rather than unleashing the full strategic value of sound for the brand.

In fact, I believe sonic thinking needs to move up the marketing chain altogether, become more integrated across disciplines and less siloed. Last year we did just that, invited to join a pitch with Ford’s design agency, Makerhouse, as one unified design + sonic + strategy team to brand DraftKings Network – a new lifestyle network for a tech savvy audience with ‘skin in the game’ across all fields from sports to fashion to crypto. This was a new product, new category, new digital-first network, and a sub-brand. Everything had to work in perfect sync between design, audio, strategy and fit into larger client plans. Out of necessity, we basically had to invent a new process of total collaboration which we call “synchronized branding”. Together we figured out how to align our processes so tightly along every step that we were one synchronized team consulting, workshopping, and reviewing work with the client for six months. The result was a better way to do branding, with all disciplines learning from each other, inspiring and influencing each other’s work, and creating a modular branding system where all design and audio pieces work together – it’s revolutionary. It tested off the charts and swept tons of awards across all categories from strategy to design to music. I believe these are new best practices, and I plan to push for as much collaboration as possible going forward.

What is music intelligence all about? How does it impact your creative and strategic approach to music?

“Music intelligence” is the term we use to describe all the work we do before spending money on producing the actual music. It’s all the research, marketing sciences, and strategy work that helps us figure out what to do before any production money is spent. It’s our proprietary, data and analysis intensive process that I developed over a decade of creating sonic branding for global brands. An ECD at Wunderman Thompson called it “an analytic approach of converting “sonic landscapes” to data, which enables a more strategic approach to sonic branding.” Transform Magazine called it a “new way of conceptualizing sonic branding that is equally scientific as it is creative.” Nile Rodgers called it “a way to help brands curate their sound so they can speak to the souls of millions of people”.  

If you look at our process map, you’ll see music intelligence encompasses three initial phases – discovery, strategy, and creative. Our discovery phase starts with a competitive audit where music supervisors numerically rate hundreds of variables for each communication studied – a way of gathering data to help us put every aspect of sound, subjective and objective, into context and make informed suggestions. We combine this with other music insights and data, share our analysis, and workshop various ideas. We then turn this into a strategy that I like to say is co-developed with client teams leveraging what they learned during discovery. Then the creative phase turns all of this into the most detailed, music filled creative brief in our field, signed off on by the client. It’s our way not only of guiding our clients along their sonic journey, but of guaranteeing the creative work is perfect and will suit all brand needs present and future.

This includes three major client presentations – analysis, strategy, and creative that allow us to share with brand teams everything we have discovered, put it into perspective, have strategic discussions using marketing visualization tools, and workshop ideas. All stakeholders must sign off on these presentations before we move on, guaranteeing that any creative work we do will be based on insight and strategy that aligns with client goals. 

In summary, this is difficult work that other agencies have not figured out how to approach, but possibly the most critical aspect of creating sonic branding that serves the strategic needs of the brand rather than just sounding nice.

Could you provide a few examples illustrating how brands have leveraged your platform to enhance their music strategies and achieve their marketing goals?

We just completed a rebrand for Canadian bank ATB where the client simply asked for a mnemonic. Instead, we did something no other bank has done - crafted a holistic “sound” they can own, plugged them into a cultural movement (dream pop) with a Canadian artist and community that will generate future opportunities, and turned sound into their primary tool for repositioning the brand in the minds of consumers. All of this happened because of what we discovered and shared during our music intelligence phases. Nearly every team at ATB ended up contributing – from apps to in-store, festivals to ATMs, ads to social. Everyone’s needs are considered and baked into the sonic identity system we created, and everyone there now thinks of sound as a “red thread” to tie the ATB experience together across all touchpoints. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing clients discover the value of sound and get excited as we take this journey together and start seeing tangible results. In this case, focus testing outperformed on every metric with veteran researchers saying “this is one of the strongest performing sounds that we have ever had the good fortune to see!”

Another example is when we rebranded Disney Junior. To quote their ECD,“Music intelligence enabled us to pinpoint specific connection points with our audience with laser accuracy and deliver on key objectives from our brief.” This was verified when Disney focus-tested all their emotional goals against a panel of 820 kids and parents, also outperforming on every metric, with some examples below.

1. 78% of kids liked the new brand track with 41% of girls saying they “loved” it.  

2. 83% of kids agreed the new music was “fun”, and, 

3. 70% of kids agreed the music was “exciting”.

What drives your company’s strategic direction, and how do you ensure that your focus areas align with your long-term vision and goals?

Our long-term vision is to elevate the role of sound in branding, and build an undeniable reputation as the best in our field. Not to satisfy any hunger for notoriety, but as a way to attract the most important and challenging projects. Our business plan is simple – I want to be the Nile Rodgers of sonic branding. If you want a hit, you come to us. Our methods may be labor intensive, but the work is always exceptional.

All of this requires us to push the envelope – not just the creative work which so many vendors do so well, but the deeper thinking and process that makes the creative work more strategically designed. It also requires guts - being daring, thinking out of the box, avoiding the obvious solutions that everyone else is doing. Again, all of this requires music intelligence to support ideas that challenge the status quo or those ideas never get approved. And none of this works if we start to sacrifice our competitive advantages – depth of focus, insight and process. Maintaining our advantages overrides all decisions. No shortcuts, ever. As a boutique, we will only survive if we are doing superior work that supports our premium position in the market.   

What are your company’s future goals and key objectives?

I believe to my core that the marketing community is not aware of the awesome power they can tap into with sound. I see it every time I give an educational seminar. Consumers are living in a world where they are fully immersed in sound at every turn, yet no brands are taking advantage of it! Sonic branding needs to evolve along with the sound-on world we live in.  

Our future goals involve lifting our discipline to meet higher expectations, expanding what sonic branding means. I feel a sort of moral obligation or manifest destiny around Sonic Lens taking the industry forward. Since we have proven that ‘music intelligence’ really works, we have an obligation to carry this mantle. That sounds pompous, but we have been achieving this with every single project – always doing something new, something beyond what our clients thought was possible, and winning gold for all of it. We uncover so much opportunity to break new ground in sonic branding that it would be a sin not to lead the charge into this new age, redefining best practices along the way.  

Marco Vitali: Founder & CEO

Marco Vitali is the founder and CEO of Sonic Lens. Marco has served as head of music at various top music agencies, eventually partnering with mentor Nile Rodgers to provide platinum curation to global clients before spinning off his own boutique agency Sonic Lens to offer a new approach to sonic branding guided by “music intelligence.”

Aside from MBAs from NYU in marketing and finance and a decade trading bonds on Wall Street, Marco is at heart a musician – starting violin at age three, accepted into Juilliard at 12, concertizing around the world by 17, and eventually being managed by music legend Nile Rodgers. He has collaborated as writer, producer and musician with Grammy winning artists like Wu Tang Clan, Quincy Jones, Ceelo Green, Aviici, Tiesto, Q-Tip, Pete Rock, Icona Pop, Organized Noize, and Peter Wolf (J. Geils).

“As a boutique, we will only survive if we are doing superior work that supports our premium position in the market.”

“Since we have proven that ‘music intelligence’ really works, we have an obligation to carry this mantle.”

“Our business plan is simple – I want to be the Nile Rodgers of sonic branding.”