BT

The brief

To create the sonic component of design agency ZAG’s rebrand for the heritage telecoms brand, BT. Deliverables would include a sonic identity (logo), several brand tracks and a ‘toolkit’ of sounds to be used across a wide range of branded content.

The challenge

When we came on board, much of the visual work had been done. ZAG had landed on a conceptual framework which they referred to as “The Portal” – encapsulating the sense of possibility integral to BT, so our challenge was also to transpose that look and feel into a sound, or set of sounds. It was important to us that we created something which could be used seamlessly across lots of different content, and which brought lots of disparate content – with different messages, across different media – together into a cohesive brand whole. 

Our approach

This was an exciting opportunity for us to look at BT’s legacy and to help direct them into a world that, from a sound perspective, is less focussed on melody. Sonically, we wanted to capture both BT’s heritage and progressiveness; this was a sound which would be heard often, so we felt confident that we could make its subtleties recognisable. 

Adaptability was key here; we went into the project with this at the front of mind. We knew that the tone of BT’s content would vary depending on the channel, audience and nature of the campaign, so we needed to create something versatile enough that it made a statement without altering the tone of what had preceded it. would not alter the tone of the content that preceded it. With this in mind, we steered away from something melodic that might clash with what had come before. The sonic identity is a representation of the power, legacy and potential of BT and all it provides to its customers.