Sennheiser’s campaign is specifically designed to test the three crucial elements in any pair of headphones
German audio specialist, Sennheiser, believes its edge is that it offers sublime sound experiences, not average ones. But how to present that? Customers can watch two TVs side by side and immediately see the difference in quality. Judging sound is not like that. There is no side by side.
Moreover, demo experiences in retail stores are generally poor. Premium sound quality is made up of three crucial elements – richness (hearing the whole frequency range), clarity (hearing all the subtle details) and soundstage (feeling as if you’re in the front row of the concert hall). This is not the experience that in-store demos tend to provide. It’s a lucky day if a working product is provided playing a basic loop of songs.
There are tracks like Britney Spears’ Toxic that are rumoured to be good for pushing headphones to their limits but no track has ever been created with the sole purpose of doing exactly that. So Sennheiser briefed MullenLowe Open to create an audio experience that would give potential customers those three crucial elements of top tier sound.
The agency worked with Sennheiser and music composer and sound designer, Tim Cowie, to create a perfectly curated piece of music, mixed in Sennheiser’s AMBEO immersive 3D audio technology, specifically designed to test these three elements in any pair of headphones.
MullenLowe Open also created a digital hub, where consumers could listen to and download the track, as well as find more educational content on how to identify richness, clarity and soundstage on the headphones they are using.
The campaign was planned to launch at South by South West in March 2020, followed by the roll-out of an immersive in-store experience across Sennhesier’s retail partners. Of course, Covid got in the way of that and MullenLowe Open and Mediahub had to come up with a rapid alternative. The partners, therefore, created special media partnerships with VICE and CNET to examine what good sound quality really sounds like.
It’s only now, as retailers begin to open their doors once again, that the in-store experience is beginning to take shape.
Virginie de Beco, global head of consumer marketing at Sennheiser, stated, “At Sennheiser, we’re proud to be shaping the future of audio and we passionately believe that no one should have to put up with substandard sound experiences. Sound Check is a brilliantly creative tool that will help consumers overcome that compromise.”
Ed Lee, a Global Client Partner at MullenLowe Group, added, “A whilst in the making, it’s a real joy to see Sound Check come to life. With consumers finally armed with the tools they need to make better decisions about the audio products they buy, more people will be enjoying the premium sound experiences they deserve. None of this would have been possible without the close partnership of our friends at Sennheiser and Mediahub, and of course, Tim Cowie.”
Media is being handled by Mediahub, with a media spend of just £40k for the first three months, and has launched on digital, digital display, social and in-store.
