“And they had people that had either the escalator going up on the right-hand side or you could take the stairs, and each stair played a different key on the piano. More people took the stairs than they did the escalators because it was more fun. So, they did something they hadn't done before that was better for them. So, it all wraps up beautifully, and was such a fun campaign. And again, it didn't have to cost a lot of money. They didn't do many of those piano stairs. And it's that old thing, or the new thing that we try and do now, [which] is ‘experienced by few, seen by many.’ And you see it all the time, you know, you do one small little activation that really doesn't have to cost a lot of money, but you film it beautifully, put a good track to it, you make sure it gets shared correctly. And all of a sudden, you've got a hit.” – Darren Borrino

 

This episode is the second half of my conversation with executive creative director of Inkfish NYC Darren Borrino as we talk about building the foundation of an effective sonic brand, how digital tools and the internet age have redefined the strategies, development, and time frame of an ad campaign, and the growing value of authenticity in a world where AI content is becoming the norm.

 

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(0:00:00 ) - Global Advertising Culture Differences and Campaigns

The second half of our conversation begins as Darren and I talk about his work all around the world, from his home in South Africa to Prague, Australia, and eventually the U.S. “The biggest culture shock I got was actually coming to New York,” he says. “Although I'm South African, my parents are British, so I was brought up on British comedy like quite sarcastic, quite dry, quite undertone.” We discuss the one ad campaign he wishes he’d written, and an inventively musical approach Denmark took to encouraging drivers to slow down: a melody based on the driver’s speed. “If you went too fast, it became annoying,” he explains. “We've all had kids in the car before. Everybody wants to slow down and just enjoy it, and there's no reason to race. So you may as well just enjoy the track.

(0:05:20 ) - Innovative Sound Marketing Campaigns

We talk about what’s changed in the advertising world in recent years, and how even a seemingly successful marketing strategy can have unintended consequences for a brand. “That's going to reposition the brand in the market,” he tells us. “But if you don't have a full perspective of where everything is, you could accidentally position that brand right next to a competitor that will easily outspend them.” Darren talks about the impact of such AI tools as Midjourney in his agency, its uses and limitations, and the unlikely sounds of inspiration all around us “I can guarantee you nine times out of ten,” he says, “it's when you're cycling home, or when you're washing your dog at home, or you're out with a friend having coffee. You'll see something happen, you'll go, ‘wait a minute. That's smart. The way that woman spoke to her dog is exactly what we need to be doing for this brand.’”

(0:16:27 ) - The Future of Creative Marketing

Our discussion concludes as Darren reflects on the fast pace of content development in the 21st century, and how it’s led to a very different tone than ad campaigns in the past. “I think the problem with that is that you get a lot of surface-level thinking,” he notes. “You can only go so deep with the time that you have, and I think that's why you see commercials generally these days are um, it's either got a pun in the headline or… you throw a celebrity in there, it's got a big track, or it's got a new visual effect, or something like that. It's not really deep thinking.” He shares some of his upcoming projects, including a new AI that adopts its persona to forge a personal connection with each user. “It obviously understands everything about the brand and its products,” he says. “But it brings in a third dimension. It helps you understand yourself a little more as a consumer, so it's got emotional intelligence built into it.

 

Episode Summary

• Darren’s cosmopolitan approach to tailoring strategies for different regional markets.
• How sound shapes consumer behavior, from climate awareness to safer driving.
• Darren’s advice to 21st-century creatives, and his latest, AI-driven campaign work.

 

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