Report Audio Branding Congress 2013
On November 28th, experts from 15 countries were present at the Audio Branding Congress 2013 in Moscow, Russia. According to the motto „Sound Opportunities“ technological trends as well as the conditions for the development of new business in the Russian market were being discussed. One highlight of the event was the presentation of the Audio Branding Award. From the six presented Best Practice Cases, the international expert jury chose the winners of the Audio Branding Award 2013. The attendees of the congress voted for the audience award.
• Gold: Emporia – Shopping mall in Malmö. Agency Radja, Sweden
• Silver: Iguatemi – Shopping mall in Porte Alegre. Agency B Sound Thinking, Brasil
• Bronze: MetrôRio – Subway system in Rio de Janeiro. Agency Zanna Sound, Brasil
• Audience Award: MetrôRio – Subway system in Rio de Janeiro. Agency Zanna Sound, Brasil
An overview of all six Best Practice Cases 2013 is available here.
Kai Bronner, Managing Partner at the Audio Branding Academy, commented on the jury result: “Our international expert jury chose three very complex projects. Music, sound and silence are not only used for marketing purposes but also serve as customer information and as optimisation of the sound ambience in public spaces. Exemplary audio branding projects like these contribute to the acoustic revaluation of our environment and show us the enormous benefit of strategic sound concepts.”
Audio Branding has arrived in Russia
The visitor numbers of the ABC 2013 display the great interest of Russian companies in the topic Audio Branding. Contrary to former years, Russian brand sound experts and brand managers were represented strongly and exchanged experiences with international colleagues. “We can proudly claim having brought the topic of Audio Branding on its way to professionalization in Russia. Russian companies become aware of the potential of a good brand sound and are ready for the international dialogue” explains Dr. Cornelius Ringe, Senior Partner at the Audio Branding Academy.
Further program highlights
“SoundCloud. The YouTube of Audio”. Another highlight of yesterday’s event was the keynote by the Berlin-based music platform SoundCloud. Mark Dewings, head of brand communications, spoke about the growing significance of music and audio on the internet. Current numbers of 250 Million users show the positive business development. Dewings showed how brands can use social networks on the internet in order to share music and sound with potential customers within the framework of their integrated communication concept.
Trends and current developments also were at the center of the panel discussion. Asking the question „What’s The Next Big Thing?“, the panelists looked ahead into the future of Audio Branding. Russian industry representatives exchanged their experiences with international colleagues and discussed applications for web, mobile apps, social media, telephone and product.
Current studies prove positive prospects for the industry
Next to the results of the annual industry survey “Audio Branding Barometer”, the Audio Branding Academy for the first time also presented the results of a pilot project in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Wurzburg (Germany). Under the direction of marketing professor Dr. Karsten Kilian, 300 top brands in 10 countries were analysed with regards to their use of music and sound in brand communciations. Results of the “Audio Branding Check” will be published shortly.