Audible & Fold7 Invite Listeners to Explore Limitless Worlds through Audio

Jun. 17, 2024

Amazon’s Audible, the world's leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling, has announced the launch of its first-ever global brand marketing platform, setting a consistent voice for all marketplaces and customer, creator and employee touchpoints. Rolling out across multiple markets over the course of the next few months, Audible’s bold brand promise is brought vibrantly to life through every channel. 

Fold7, the creative agency behind the campaign, have worked with Audible in the UK for the last 8 years and were appointed to a global role spanning TV, digital, social, radio and OOH following a competitive pitch. Winning out against incumbent agencies and groups that serviced other markets for the brand. 

Running across the US, UK, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, India, Spain, the new work uses rich and immersive visual and linguistic devices to emphasise the magic in the meeting point between the wonder of our imaginations and the mundanity of the everyday. 

Guided by the tagline “There’s more to imagine when you listen,” the brand executions explore how listening to Audible immerses us all in extraordinary worlds, changing our mood, perceptions, views - all while engaging in routine daily activities. 

Audible’s approach to the development of the campaign is a reflection of their enduring legacy of craft, and their commitment to supporting the creative communities across the globe as well as the creative economies of the markets they preside in. 

 

Filmed across three continents, with shoots in Brazil, Thailand, and the UK, the commercial A/V spots were directed by Antoine Bardou-Jacquet, an award-winning director with the distinction of directing the most awarded commercial in the history of advertising. 

Incredible set builds and practical effects for the two launch pieces of AV highlight Bangkok’s growing preeminence in production. 

“Soaking Detective”, focuses on Audible’s true crime collection and follows a team of detectives solving a crime when water bursts through the ceiling. The office is flooding inexplicably, with confusion reigning supreme - until, the water engulfs the scene and we see a woman listening to Audible detective fiction whilst soaking in a bath. The voiceover says: “There’s more to imagine when you listen”. During production of the film, the team physically flooded the set with tons of water in order to get the perfect shot. Reminiscent of techniques used in movies like Titanic.

“Cosmic Vacuum”, spotlights the fantasy genre and is set in a distant world, where a battle between two armies is about to commence. The scene takes an unexpected turn when our fighters are sucked into the sky one by one. The camera travels towards the clouds to discover an Audible sci-fi listener, vacuuming. Wardrobe was designed and fitted in Bangkok using incredible local talent and supervised by Verity Hawkes, of Snatch, About Time and Inkheart fame. Rogier Samuels, known for his work on Lord of The Rings led a team of prosthetics experts to bring characters to life. VFX was a key component of the film, creating a far flung galaxy from the corners of the mind. 

Key visuals hero different genres, from fiction and self-improvement to romance and fantasy, injecting a twist to everyday tasks; commuting to DIY, consumers are transported into different world’s through listening.

Social strategy for the multi-channel platform includes distinct paid and organic activity featuring high-profile creators Brittney Broski, Ayamé P, Oliver Mills and Daniel Corral. Directed by Ant Rubinstein of Unit9, the films use social-first VFX to bring to life the intersection of the everyday with the richness of imagined worlds.

It also includes a series of five films showcasing imagined worlds in which listeners encounter something fantastical happening while listening to Audible or they turn to camera and break the fourth wall to shatter the illusion of their imagined world. The films were shot in partnership with Brazilian production company Lightfarm, a market leader in the mixing of real and fantastical worlds. 

Susan Jurevics, Chief Brand and International Officer, Audible, commented:

“Through breathtaking visuals, powerful audio mechanisms and an interactive digital and social approach, we were able to create a singular brand position that exemplifies the transportive and captivating qualities of listening to Audible. As a company with millions of worldwide listeners with different habits, rhythms and interests, it was crucially important to identify a precise voice and marketing approach to appeal to our expansive listening audience.” Jurevics continued, “Audio storytelling continues to scale-- and audiences increasingly engage with Audible in ways that fit into and enrich their day-to-day.  What’s clear through consumer insights and in conversations with our listeners is that listening to Audible gives people a way to imagine more and brings flavour, texture and colour to the everyday rhythm of their lives.”

 

Ryan Newey, Founder at Fold7, added:

“We’re delighted to launch this global campaign alongside Audible. A truly 360 approach invites the audience to transport themselves from the mundane. Bringing together old world production values and new world technology has enabled us to create a body of work communicating the power of audio to potential listeners wherever they are, and however they choose to consume content.”

 

Dave Billing, Executive Creative Director at Fold7, said:

“This wonderful combination of brand, brief and project come along but rarely in a career. And the opportunity to execute this idea across so many touchpoints, across so many markets, with access to such incredible industry talent, has been a privilege. Throughout the work, we’re colliding two worlds - the imagined and the mundane. It’s a formula that generates abundant creative energy, and we hope this work cements Audible as the preeminent audio content platform of our age.