Sound of Union: A New Way To Redefine Legacy

After over a century of existence, Union Bank is turning to music for next century. Here’s how they got it right.

Music is fun. Music is emotional. Music takes us to places that we can neither travel to on our own, nor experience. Music is identity. Music is a store of value. And also, music is utility. It comes alive when it is deployed to serve humanity in myriad ways.

Over time, music has been used in every facet of human existence. Ancient earth dwellers used sounds for communication. Distant tribes danced around fires and beat drums as identity markers to foster camaraderie. Friends and family celebrate it. Revellers soundtracking indulgence in momentary and lasting happiness, whether in sweaty parties brimming with smiles and contorting bodies moving to rhyme and words. In religion, it captures worship and sacred rituals. While the guy walking down the street, ears plugged, head shaking from side to side, and hands occasionally gesticulating in rhythm, is getting a pick me from a streaming app. Music is many things to many people. 

For branding, music is utilised as a tool for communication. Through well-developed methods, companies curate sounds that become the natural extension of the brand, offering many an access point to the brand and sealing a unique identity. Ever wondered why you hear a tune on the radio or an ad, and you’re reminded of a particular company or product? That’s because the brand has intentionally coupled itself to a specific sound. Enter the Sound of Union project.

At 105 years old, Union Bank has a new sound identity. The  Nigerian legacy Bank seeks to engage with today's and tomorrow's generations by launching a brand-new sound identity – The Sound of Union. The goal of the launch is to leverage the universality of music to build better connections with new and existing audiences and drive increased affinity for the brand. It comes at a time when African music is at the peak of its power, with music from Nigeria finding new spaces in foreign lands to call home. Union Bank, a century-old financial institution is aligning with the best of our cultural expressions, charting their path forward using sound. 

“The Sound of Union is a unique sound that we hope will represent the Union brand going forward for the foreseeable future…we said, ‘let’s think about music in a more strategic way, and how it can help us connect this brand to different audiences, whatever their music flavour is,” says Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem, the Bank’s Chief Brand and Marketing Officer during the official unveiling of the project via Twitter space. 

Banking and music. How can the rigidity and order of a financial institution find common ground with a culture that originates from extreme dynamism? How can they find a fluid intersection where both thrive in sonic and corporate harmony?

Enter Tee-Y Mix, the iconic Nigerian producer. Famed for his mastery of sound across generations of listeners, and credentialed by a history of hits within the African market took on the task. A new challenge, the producer quickly set to work, excitedly choosing the project because, “it is not the norm, especially in a terrain like Nigeria. It’s not the norm to have banks like Union Bank wanting to use sound as a tool,” he tells me. “Creating a sound that will just last for a few seconds, yet still carry the sound and everything within that sound was quite interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed the process.”

The process involved a combination of human psychology, and field work outside the studio. First Tee-Y Mix absorbed the history of the brand, digging through 105 years of stories and growth. And to get a tangible feel of that legacy, he travelled all around Lagos, visiting different Union Bank halls, lounging for extended durations in waiting chairs, while soaking in the vibe. “Before I started the project, I needed to fully understand the brand. I just wanted to get the pulse and feel. I will go into the banking hall and sit down, just studying everyday people. I was able to get a lot of insights doing this exercise” he says. 

In the studio, the main work began. The search for the distinct sound and riff to define the brand took endless hours and many attempts to fly. But it paid off. The shortlist came down to 50 different sounds before the final Sound of Union came to be. 

Sound of Union is a 9-track EP, spanning expansive genres and influences, all derived from one sonic logo, designated as the Universal theme. Composed of a meandering guitar riff, the percussion heavy record is backed by probing drums. It’s distinct music, an ear worm rewarding multiple listens. 

Things get interesting along the project. The Afrobeats version on Sound of Union opens up to shakes, and deeper kicks to hold the rhythm and rolling drums. The Alternative Rock version takes you back in time to the love and poetry of the 90s, while the funk version goes farther into the 80’s disco-lit grooves. The tribal versions carry the pulse of Nigeria’s heterogeneity, with key sonic elements stripped and added in to denote identity. The Igbo Ogene and Oja make an appearance, while the Yorubas have the talking drum as an anchor. For the Hausas, the Jali takes the lead, while the Kakaki adds flavour. Elsewhere, everything goes serene on the Modern Classical version, while Jazz brings on the orchestra. All these versions, dynamic as they are, carry the distinct sonic logo of the Sound of Union.

Distributed exclusively by Boomplay via a B2B cultural partnership, Sound of Union successfully advances a brand, existing as innovative proof of the times we live in. As human expression continues to morph and expand with help from technology, we’re witnessing a collapse of boundaries across every sector and fragment of human endeavor. The results are novel, fusing hitherto unrelated fields, via collaboration. 

Union Bank has its sound. The culture has a new project. Everyone wins.