Sonic and audio branding is a much fascinating field in the industry, and one which is certainly growing. Blending corporate identities across an almost-all-encompassing sensorial experience is bound to be the future of marketing, and if that's true, Make Some Noise is certainly in a great spot to deliver it all.
The agency was founded shortly before the Covid-19 crisis struck – which would have been a hefty challenge in and of itself for many founders out there. But Jan Schlueter, alongside his team of three in total, was able to push through the crisis and make good use of his contact book, finding the first few clients for the agency.
As things start to look brighter for the future of the business, the team is aiming to expand its services beyond music and sound. With such a determined group of professionals leading the way, Make Some Noise is certainly a space to watch in the near future.
In this Company Spotlight, we are learning more about a much ambitious agency from Hamburg with Jan Schlueter, Co-Founder of Make Some Noise.
How was your company born and where are you based?
We are based in Hamburg and got a branch in Frankfurt. Make Some Noise was in our heads for a long time and shortly before the Covid-19 disaster struck, we founded our agency.
What was the biggest challenge to the growth of your company?
Challenging is the whole process to acquire new clients. Due to the fact that we don’t work much for and with ad agencies we approach brands and companies directly. To explain what we can do for a brand and to build up a trusting relationship is the toughest part.
Which was the first huge success that you can remember?
There is no real breakthrough job that we did or a client that opened doors for us. It’s a continuous process and we are very thankful for all the creative talent that we work with and for all our clients.
What’s the biggest opportunity for you and your company in the next year?
To branch out and to offer more creative services beside music production and sound design. While working in different fields of the music industry we collected many contacts to several creatives from film to graphic people.
Can you explain your team’s creative process? What makes it unique?
We are quite a unique outfit and also three highly experienced people, coming from different backgrounds in the entertainment and marketing industry. The creative process is always different and not an initial team effort. Someone is pitching an idea and we will brainstorm about it and build and build.
How does your team remain inspired and motivated?
Music basically. Nothing works better to pump up your endorphin level by listening to your current favourite songs.
How has COVID-19 affected your company?
We struggled massively in the first 6 months. After that first shock period we continued to work but on a much lower level. Business has been picking up for the past 4 month now!
Which agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
No, we don’t gain inspiration from other companies or agencies, that would be boring. And heroes we do have, sure. Artists and real visionaries mixed together.
What is one tip that you would give to other agencies looking to grow?
In general: stay true to yourself and have fun.
How do you go about finding new clients/business? (Pitching, work with retainers, etc.)
Very good question indeed. Finding new clients is quite easy if your are connected as we are. Nevertheless it is hard to convince companies and brands to spend marketing money for something that is still not really scalable but so important and seminal for a brand.
What’s your one big hope for the future of the industry?
That music will reoccupy the strong emotional factor for our society and even more importantly that people see the cultural value and spend more money for music.
Do you have any websites, books or resources that you would recommend?
What we find inspiring is not only music or sound related. Nevertheless we would like to feature some of our absolute favourites concerning creativity and music:
Book: Amir Questlove Thompson – Creative Quest
https://www.allencheng.com/creative-quest-book-summary-questlove/
Music: our own MAKE SOME NOISE Spotify channel is featuring some very unique playlists, please check it out and support all the artists!
https://open.spotify.com/user/0gg4quvxc2yr0zfqm3fd0xvm3?si=37fe55d46cec424d
Make Some Noise January 4th, 2022, around noon
thank you very much for this feature, dear creativepool people