On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2020. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Valentin ↗
In their words
You need to stand out from the noise. Music is everywhere, noise everywhere. The most important thing is not only to grab attention but to make sure that we can engage with your audiences in different ways.
The sound instrumentation they were using here was basically the notes from the home phone — and for a company that is all about technology and connectivity, projecting yourself into the future, I felt like it was reconnecting you to the home when what they wanted to do is connect you to the world.
We pick up from there and build what we call the audio DNA, like a sonic DNA — a 30 to 45 second composition that best represents the brand.
Around the web ×1
Quick answers
Who is Valentin Fleur?
Global Head of Strategy and Managing Director for Canada at Sixième Son, the Paris-founded sonic branding agency. His own agency bio lists Royal Bank of Canada, TD and Interac among the brands he has worked with, and Havas Paris and Euro RSCG among his earlier employers.
How does Sixième Son build a sonic identity?
On the TechTO stage Fleur described the process: sit down with the brand — usually with the CMO, who has rarely done this before — reduce it to about three core values, run a listening session against mood boards, then compose a 30-to-45-second 'audio DNA' and adapt that core to each touchpoint.
Can a startup afford sonic branding?
Fleur's answer at TechTO was that roughly half the agency's clients are companies most people have never heard of, and that a smaller brand can start with a sonic logo alone and build the system out from there — the pitch being that digital-native companies now design sound and visuals at the same time rather than sequentially.