Having played a key role in shaping the University’s brand identity alongside Lippincott, Fuller brought an in-depth understanding of the brand’s tone, positioning, and aspirations to the project; while Sonar Music, renowned for crafting original and emotive sound designs, contributed their expertise in creating compelling brand stings, with past collaborations including high-profile brands like NRMA, Allianz, and 7-Eleven.
The creative process was highly collaborative, bringing together key stakeholders from across Adelaide University, along with the creative team at Richards Rose, and members of the University’s reference group to work together with Fuller and Sonar to define, review, and refine the sonic brand through the following key developmental stages: Sonic Brand Discovery; Strategy Workshop; Composition Phase; Final Selection; and Adaptations.
During the Sonic Brand Discovery phase Fuller collaborated with the University to gather key brand and usage information, and then worked with the Sonar Music team to provide an initial understanding of the brand.
All stakeholders then attended an initial Strategic Workshop where discovery information was reflected upon, and further information was gathered from the group to define the brand’s sonic essence and inform the creative brief.
Based on the workshop insights, Sonar, under Fuller’s guidance, commenced creative exploration for the sonic brand and developed multiple compositions that reflected the University’s identity.
Through a series of three listening and feedback workshops, all key stakeholders were presented with an initial selection of sonic mnemonics to review. Through numerous rounds of feedback, a final sting was chosen to develop further for final review.
Following the approval of the final sonic brand mnemonic, affectionately named “The Flight of the Shrike”, Sonar and Fuller worked in collaboration with Adelaide University’s reference group, and key stakeholders, to produce a suite of five variations on the chosen sonic brand to ensure flexibility and adaptability across various media formats, to cover key target audiences, and to ensure longevity in brand recognition.
Adelaide University is the first and only university in Australia with a sonic brand, placing it ahead of its competitors once again, by showing audacity and future thinking.
The Flight of the Shrike reflects Adelaide University’s audacious spirit, while staying true to its proven legacy. It’s a confident tone of uplifting positivity and energy in a world of uncertainty. It’s a buzzing of bold, ambitious ideas coming to be.
It’s the song of a new era of learning.
Embarking on a mission to develop a sonic brand for Adelaide University was exciting but unknown territory for us. Fuller and Sonar Music guided us through best practice for a unique sound, landing with a suite of variations that will be used across videos, events and social platforms for years to come. The process we went through to explore different arrangements – sitting around as a group listening to possible mnemonics and trying to agree what resonated most as ‘us’ – was both positive and fun. Perhaps not surprisingly, Fuller and Adelaide University were completely aligned on the final selected sting. As the finishing touch to our new brand, it’s an asset that we’re really thrilled to put out in market.