@SXSW2021 · 2:34
SXSW Industry Expert Steve Keller - Pandora
Join this
conversation
Download the Swell app and instantly add your voice.
There's so much to explore here, because I think we're living in a time when people are really expecting a lot from sound, not just the technology of things and the remixes that we all know happened, but more about our own voices in the mix of the social presence. I'm doing a talk on why is our voice lifting our social presence currently now? And what's the buzz now? And so obviously, my curiosity around Steve's career is pretty huge
Steve Keller
@audioalchemist · 4:46
Believe it or not, it was a thing, and it was a really great thing for me. It gave me an opportunity to work with a lot of amazing artists, some top stars that everyone knows. It gave me an opportunity to get into some wonderful Studios, to work with some engineers to Hone the craft. And I eventually started writing music and producing music for commercials. And it was through that process that I found that I really just loved advertising and branding
Steve Keller
@audioalchemist · 1:50
I think for brands, this has been an exciting time, but also a challenging time because brands are used to showing up visually in spaces, spending a lot of time thinking about how they're using their visual logos or using Typography or display ads or video to get their point across. But now we're living in a world where you can't see the brand or you're not interacting with the brand with text
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:50
Wow. That's an extraordinary map you just laid out for us. Everything makes sense. You're absolutely right. It's so wonderful to know that there are careers out there that can really synthesize one's loves in all areas. It's just incredible. And I feel like we're living in a time right now where psychology is obviously at the base of so many marketing decisions
Steve Keller
@audioalchemist · 3:53
It can shape our understanding of semiotics and symbols. You spoke to that a little in your illustration of using different kinds of music under the same video and how it doesn't just change the feel, but it can change the narrative. And so I've actually done some research around this idea of audio archetypes with Daniel Mullen Siephan and Christian Wong at Coldsmouth University in London
Steve Keller
@audioalchemist · 4:47
So we begin like you would in any kind of market design where we would start with an assessment. What can we learn about the brand? This is kind of putting on my audio archaeologist hat and beginning to do some digging. So we'll do some interviews. We'll do a series of audits, kind of looking at How's the brand use sound in the past, How's it using sound now, looking at competitors, how are competitors using the sound?
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:50
And one great thing about an audio app like Swallow, is we can listen deeply to something that you want us to listen to, so give us a sense of where that might be and we'll look into it and have that experience that would be great. And then after that, I want to talk about the six dimensions of sound, and I will link to that part of your website in my next question
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Steve Keller
@audioalchemist · 4:56
And so this is an example of a brand that had an identity, but yet hadn't done the work to really develop the standards around it so that they could be consistent with it. But they could also adapt it and have it grow. And it worked really well for them. And I'm going to follow this with a second example of a brand that we didn't work on. But I think it's a great story
Steve Keller
@audioalchemist · 4:59
So I think between Home Depot and Shell, these are a couple of great examples of brands using style guides and systems to ensure that you're consistently getting a Sonic experience of the brand. Wherever you're hearing the brand
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:50
And here, of course, I know that song, but it wasn't like something I hummed, like a jingle. It's a much denser, experiential immersive soundtrack rather than something I hum in the shower. There's something on your corporate website that talks about the six dimensions of sound, and it's a really cool, interactive experience. I'm going to link it here in this swell
Steve Keller
@audioalchemist · 5:00
So the origin story of six dimensions of sound. Well, if you remember in my opening monologue when I talk about my Sonic journey, I described that shortly before I was hired by Pandora, I was in Pandora's orbit doing presentations, some workshops. And in 2016, I had done a TEDx talk about sound and the power of sound to shape our perception and our behavior. So one day I got a phone call from Lauren Nagel, who at the time was a group creative director at Pandora
Join this
conversation
Download the Swell app and instantly add your voice.