Amnesty looks at audio signatures

One of the world’s largest human rights organisations, Amnesty International, is considering creating an audio brand to sit alongside its visual identity for the first time.

Amnesty International UK has commissioned Sonic ID, made up of a strategic partnership between brand development consultancy DKPM and sound specialist Illustrious Company, to ‘explore audio possibilities’ and carry out a sound-based design project to develop a raft of compositions that could potentially be applied across the brand.

The work could usher in a new phase of branding for charities in general. It is the first time Amnesty has looked ‘at any form of audio branding’, says a spokesman, but ‘it is still early days and there are no firm plans to announce’.

Various sound designs will include three core audio elements – a composition, mood and tag – that would play on broadcast media campaigns, on-line activity, telephone systems, ring tones, presentations and exhibitions.

The project is in the second stage creative process, but concepts will be finalised imminently, with a view to rolling out the work progressively next year across the UK, according to Daniel Kirby, director at DKPM (pictured below, right).

‘This is a new direction for Amnesty International. In general audio branding is still a relatively uncharted area – sound is the poor relation to visual identity in our sector,’ adds Kirby.