Al Jazeera English channel’s sonic brand wins Music+Sound Award

The Music+Sound Awards announced the Sonic Lens Agency as the winner in the category of ‘Best Original Composition in Branding’ for the work it produced on Al Jazeera English's sonic branding.

The Music+Sound Awards are the world’s first and only global awards programme that celebrates the indispensable role and outstanding contribution that both music and sound design play in the media.

Al Jazeera English launched its channel refresh on January 1st 2020. Besides the sonic branding, the refresh included an upgraded news studio; new screen architecture and furniture for all programming; and a new visual strategy and structure for commercial breaks. The sonic branding was an integral part of the channel refresh and was vital for its success.

Al Jazeera English's sonic branding is designed to complement and reflect the rich content, mission and values of the channel. It is a full audio toolkit made up of signature tracks, style tracks, mnemonics and sound design elements. This toolkit, when used in conjunction with core brand visual elements, holistically and subtly reinforces the brand to thereby create subliminal familiarity that is immediately recognisable as being Al Jazeera.

Marco Vitali, Composer and Managing Partner at the Sonic Lens Agency, said: "The Al Jazeera brand really stands out in its competitive landscape for many reasons - from the quality of its award winning content to its unique brand values while providing a balance between hope and beauty vs on the ground realism and bringing power to account.  Our goal was to create a system of music and sound that would embody the many aspects of the brand in all situations."

“Al Jazeera English is delighted with the innovative work undertaken by the Sonic Lens Agency,” said Al Jazeera English Managing Director, Giles Trendle. “The agency delivered our channel a flexible but unified sonic strategy allowing for an endless combination of sounds, instruments and styles to help amplify our brand.”

 “We are incredibly honoured that the Sonic Lens Agency has won this prestigious award,” said Duncan Preston, Head of Global Creative. “The sonic branding was a major part of a channel refresh we designed for Al Jazeera English and a fundamental element in helping develop the channel into a truly modern, holistic brand. Winning this award really validates the sonic approach of our channel refresh on the global stage and within the industry. And it’s a testament to all those who were involved in the project.”

The Music+Sound Awards is an annual event championing the talents and skills of composers, sound designers, music supervisors and sync teams. Aimed at professionals, worldwide, working in advertising, film, television (branding and programming) and gaming, the awards are open to anyone who is or has been involved in the creation, composition, sourcing, licensing, briefing and / or production of music or sound design for any media.