Why Sonic Branding Is Lost without Great Craft

Papamusic is a Buenos-Aires-based music company that has been working in international advertising markets since its inception in 2006. Co-founded by Damian Minckas and Ezequiel Flehner - two musicians in their own right - the pair quickly fell in love with soundtracking commercials and have gone on to win awards around the world, including a Gold Cannes Lion for Best Use of Music in the Film Craft category.

Thanks to a partnership with trailer music company Safari Riot, Papamusic also has studios in New York and Los Angeles, where it offers a unique musical blend of high-level creative direction and sonic branding analysis. Speaking to LBB’s Ben Conway, Damian - who himself is a songwriter with a jazz background - shares that he first composed music for TV at just 18-years-old and got his start thanks to Argentina’s popularity as a shooting location.

“The third spot I wrote the music for was a Tide ad for the USA. I recorded it with one mic, singing and playing guitar at the same time at my mom’s bedroom,” he says. “They loved it and from then on we started working a lot for that market.”

While brands have always used music to distinguish themselves, Damian says that the modern world now allows companies to capitalise on the music they create and pay for “by producing unique and non-transferable tracks that feature a brand melody or a brand sound that creates awareness.” And this isn’t exclusive for TV or digital campaigns. Highlighting that notification sounds and other modern digital touchpoints are opportunities for sonic branding, he says that music and sound have become key elements in brand strategy, rivalling the importance of even a campaign’s visual assets.

Above: Corona, 'Mande'

Almost two decades after founding Papamusic, Damian and the team have worked with many brands on projects around the world, including the global Coke Zero launch and campaigns for the likes of Corona. One of the standout works for the iconic Mexican beer brand is ‘Mande’, which Damian calls “a beautiful spot”, directed by Nico Perez Veiga. “He is always pushing us to deliver top notch crafty work,” he adds.

Custom music, like the track in ‘Mande’, makes up over half of Papamusic’s business and is both the co-founders’ “first love”. Damian says, “It’s what got us in the game. We are really craft-oriented. Sonic branding is super strategic but if you don’t approach it with great craft, you are lost.” A recent project that exemplifies this long-term passion for original compositions is ‘Sabor Único’, a custom track for coffee company Café Bustelo featuring the vocal talents of latin singer Matahoney.

This three minute-long track won a D&AD Pencil for ‘best original music composition’ and was written, performed and produced in Papamusic’s studio. “It represents our mission very well,” says Damian. “You listen to that track and you hear a song that could be played on the radio before or after a Bad Bunny track - and it would feel natural. The production and creative team at the agency contributed a lot too, they were really inspiring to work with and after the process, we all agreed on how much fun it had been.”

He continues, “Another one that I like a lot is a Gatorade spot that aired for the Women’s World Cup. It’s full of nice production details - we recorded intervened pianos, and string instruments in all sorts of unconventional ways. The Tulipan spot [‘The Incomplete Story of Pleasure’] is one I like a lot too, it has a lovely message.”

As well as producing original, custom songs for ad campaigns, Papamusic also has its own sonic branding process entitled ‘SOUNDTRIP™’. The co-founder explains that this bespoke system “combines strategy, creativity, scientific support, research and Papamusic's unique musical craft to create distinctive, effective, and attractive sound identities” for a whole host of clients. The process uses close collaboration with the brand, and occasionally with agencies and production companies too, and has been successful in beating both American and European competitors in pitches - helped by the Argentinian company’s highly competitive prices.

When looking for a new brand partnership - whether it be for an original soundtrack or to utilise the SOUNDTRIP™ process - Damian says that he loves to seek clients that he can build trusting and understanding creative relationships with that evolve over time. “I don’t believe pitching gives the best results,” he says. “I believe in a discovery process that may even involve some frustration.”

Above: Gatorade, 'Sweating Is Glory'

Always looking for these new, innovative partnerships, with an eye toward the future, he also shares that AI has become a recent fascination for the team. He reveals that Papamusic has now hired an AI expert to help the company develop machine learning tools, already succeeding with some interesting projects such as generating new AI singers that he believes are “amazing”.

“Right now we are training the computer to develop full gospel choirs out of a single singer and stuff like that,” he adds. “Our plan [for the rest of 2023 and beyond] is to keep improving our processes and our product - both in custom music and sonic branding. We believe that if the work is strong, everything else flows naturally.”