This is CBS
Creating an Iconic Sonic Brand
From daytime to primetime, sports to news, sitcoms, dramas, and reality shows, CBS is America's number-one network. Our objective was to unify the brand from top to bottom – developing a cohesive Sonic expression to integrate CBS’s various divisions under one Federal Banner.
Discovery & Strategy
To unite such a large and diverse brand, we first set out to clarify the brand voice — "real," “relentless,” “optimistic” and “inviting” — paying homage to the brand’s rich legacy in a way that feels new, fresh, and uniquely CBS. We explored the competitive landscape, analyzed CBS’s current sonic assets, and identified strategic touchpoints to instill equity. For a brand with nearly a 100-year history, we explored a wide variety of conceptual ways, before settling on an abstraction of the timeless announcer voiceover, “This is CBS.”
Announcer VO
An Iconic Form
We began to break “This is CBS” into rhythm, articulation and arc to design a modern Sonic expression that would be memorable, repeatable, and adaptable. The rhythmic separation between “This” and subsequent notes speaks to the relationship between the state and federal levels of CBS. The melody can be implemented in a major, minor or neutral tonality, offering a wide range of applications from comedy to drama, sports to news, and Digital Sonic UI to cinema.
Exploration
Once we had established the mechanics of rhythm, articulation and melody, we developed a hero version of the mnemonic using instruments, equipment and textures from all eras of CBS's legacy — including a Rhodes piano, Fender guitars and amplifiers that were owned and manufactured by CBS musical instruments at the time.
Federal Sonic
Expanding Outward
Once we had established the Sonic palette and execution at the federal level, we developed other expressions of the mnemonic for news, sports, Media ventures, CBS Studios and more.
CBS Sports Sonic
CBS News
Results
Finally, we created a Sonic brand style guide along with myriad modular assets to pass off to CBS's internal teams to Convey One CBS as they broadcast out to the world.
Now, two years after the launch of its sonic brand, CBS has fun creatively with their mnemonic, exploring remixes and one-off versions for specific shows and weaving the mnemonic into the compositions that comprise their News music packages. Their sound identity was honored at the 2021 AMP Awards and continues to evolve and grow across their expansive media network.
Tags
Press & Awards
Outstanding Sonic Branding/Mnemonic
