The two-time Clio-wining Social Sound experience turned headphones into a sonic GPS, guiding users through Cape Town to a secret Daliwonga concert using 360° spatial audio.
Client
Region
Industry
Insight
A recent study showed 73% of people wear headphones to avoid social interaction. So, we used the same headphones to create a social movement: The Social Sound.
Problem
To promote Schweppes in a culturally-relevant way, we sought to turn a product rooted in taste into an immersive, sensorial experience, without visuals, ads, or traditional promotion.
Solution
We partnered with Amapiano star Daliwonga to create a one-day-only, audio-led a secret live show only accessible through sound. We transformed headphones into a 360° sonic GPS using spatial audio and layered stems from Daliwonga’s unreleased track. As fans moved through the city, each step brought them closer to the music. With binaural spatialization, real-time convolution, and a custom impulse response system, the experience built anticipation and atmosphere as listeners navigated to the hidden venue.
Impact
The experience won two Clios for "Innovative Use of Music" and "Immersive/New Realities," We increased nationwide social conversation around the brand 5,805% and received 10,500% more mentions than the competitor brand, with our total social reach for the one day event hitting 1,817,532. This made #Schweppes the trending topic on X for 6 days in a row in South Africa. We packed the secret venue (limited to 300 people for this exclusive event) with an average audio duration of 18 minutes 54 seconds for the headphones experience. The Social Sound gained earned media coverage in National TV News Broadcast SABC TrendzLive reaching 11.8M people, digital coverage including BizCommunity, Carve Africa, and Cypress Live reaching 13.5M people, and national and local radio, including Heart FM “Cape Town’s Beat,” The Switch station’s “Heart Squad,” Good Hope FM, and 5FM South Africa.
