Sennheiser Puts Headphones to the Test with Specifically Designed Composition 'Sound Check'

Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, Sennheiser has a rich heritage of putting sound first and creating meaningful sound experiences. The German-based audio specialist understands there is a big difference between an average audio experience and a sublime one. 

However, unlike a TV’s picture, sound quality is intangible and subjective. Very few consumers have the knowledge or tools to judge the difference when it comes to buying headphones, so they often end up settling for the mediocre. 

The problem is particularly clear in retail - demo experiences are generally poor - you’re lucky to get your hands on a working product playing a basic loop of songs. So it’s no surprise most consumers leave frustrated and confused. 

There are tracks out there like ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears that are rumoured to be good for pushing headphones to their limits. However, no track has ever been created with the sole purpose of doing exactly that.

Knowing that premium sound quality was 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), Sennheiser briefed MullenLowe Open to create an immersive audio experience that brought these elements to life for Sennheiser’s prospective customers.

Together with music composer and sound designer Tim Cowie, MullenLowe Open and Sennheiser collaborated 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.  

This campaign was planned to launch at South by Southwest in March 2020, followed by the roll out of an immersive in-store experience across Sennhesier’s retail partners. Unfortunately the event was cancelled due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, so MullenLowe Open & Mediahub quickly pivoted to create innovative media partnerships with VICE and CNET to examine what good sound quality really sounds like. Now, as we slowly emerge into the new normal and retailers begin to open their doors once again, the in-store experience will take shape.

Virginie de Beco, global head of consumer marketing, said: “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, global client partner at MullenLowe Group, said: “A while 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 £40k for the first three months, and has launched on digital, digital display, social and in-store. Partnerships include VICE and CNET.