'Sounds made by the city, for the city'. 

RTA is the independent government roads and transportation authority in Dubai. It’s one of the most rapidly evolving public transport systems in the world, and encompasses Metro, Tram, Taxi, Buses and Water modes of transport.

Brief - An ambitios project to create a sonic identity for RTA that communicates brand values, assists and enhances the customer journey (marketing and physical experience) is flexible enough to be used across all touchpoints. From marketing communications and digital applications, through to functional sounds of the transport system (such as when tapping on/off the Metro, station announcements, alerts for doors opening/closing).

Challenges - How do we unite all areas of the RTA business through sound and music that will appeals to, and function for, local and international audiences? 

Solution - Always looking ahead, RTA takes great leaps of advancement to ensure smoother, happier lives for the people of Dubai - today and for future generations. So our overarching creative concept was born: Future Leap. Underpinning this, was RTA’s brand purpose of Make, Move, Transform. The embodiment of this is the sonic logo. At the start you can hear the accelerating, rising tone of the metro. This is followed by three notes representing the three letters of ‘RTA’, and the three sides of the visual logo. The final note is the big leap forward into the future. It is modern, uplifting and welcoming. The sound is innovative, has momentum, and gives a sense of joy and happiness.

Our creative process began on the ground - our team spent three days in Dubai, recording thousands of sounds from all RTA modes of transport, the city and even the desert. Special software and production techniques extracted usable sounds from the field recordings. We removed any unwanted noise, and manipulated into beats or sounds that could be incorporated into compositions. There are many rhythms, beats, textures and melodic elements that make up RTA’s “sonic DNA”, from which we created all sonic assets. These then form the basis for any sound or piece of music that the brand architecture would need in the future. 

Result - The deployment on ongoing growth of a truly holistic, flexible, adaptable, future focussed sonic strategy. A carefully designed audio strategy born out of the perfect blend of aesthetic, concept and function.  A sonic architecture formed of a master brand theme and sonic logo that communicate the brand values and personality of RTA along with adaptations for online content, customer service on-hold music, radio bumpers, ringtones and text alerts. The extension of RTA branded moments for in-transit sounds (e.g. to notify passengers that doors are opening/closing, the next station is approaching, or an announcement is being made) are implemented across the entire city. 

In the near future, this sonic ecosystem will become synonymous not only with RTA, but with the city of Dubai itself.