Air India Express has introduced its signature sonic identity, infusing holiday vibes to its brand music in-flight. Alongside the festive addition, Air India Express also recorded a Middle Eastern version of its sonic identity.
The sonic identity of Air India Express was developed in a three-stage process originating with the brand’s personality of intuitiveness, style, accessibility, and warmth, while capturing the spirit of New India. The Air India Express sonic identity embodies the brand essence depicting three distinct rasas of Indian classical music – karuna (empathy), adbhuta (wonder) and veera (valour). The sonic identity also incorporates a distinct take on the signature two-tone airline announcement ‘chime.’ The Christmas-themed sonic identity is designed to resonate with the holiday spirit, offering a memorable sensory experience.
Siddhartha Butalia, Chief Marketing Officer, Air India Express, said, “Travel is meant to be about new experiences and lasting memories, and music resonates emotionally with both a universality in the way we experience it as well as a cultural specificity. Like our brand, our sonic identity has been crafted to deliver a more holistic and memorable sensory experience. It encapsulates the essence the new Air India Express brand and positioning, embodying the ‘Explorer’ and the ‘Everyperson’ archetypes, and inviting travellers to ‘Fly as You Are’ with a more liberating travel experience empowered by digitally driven personalisation. Our brand identity is reflected in our vision to inspire new possibilities and make meaningful connections with unmatched Indian warmth. Like the unique patterns of India on the tail of every new aircraft we are inducting, our sonic identity reflects the rich heritage and tapestry of our culture while resonating the vibrancy and confidence of a progressive and pluralistic future.”
For the sonic identity, certain scales or ragas were identified, such as ‘Raag Savitri,’ that express the brand’s ethos. These were incorporated with a fusion of traditional instruments such as the violin, sitar, santoor, and flute, as well as rhythm instruments such as the ghatam and tabla, and modern instruments like the electric guitar and synth bass arpeggiator, with rhythmic instruments, including kick drums, snares, and hi-hats.
The Explorer avatar comes with the use of an Electric Guitar motif and Synth Bass Arpeggiator while the Everyperson avatar is brought alive with the use of the Sitar, Ghatam and Tabla. The dynamism, confidence, and optimism of the brand are expressed using a Synth Bass in combination with Kick and Snare Drums.
For the Middle East, Air India Express has adapted its sonic identity to resonate with the rich cultural nuances of the region. The Middle Eastern rendition of the sonic identity interprets sound as a unifying force between diverse regions. This adaptation incorporates distinctive instruments indigenous to the Middle East, such as Oud and Bağlama (string instruments), Darbuka and Mirwas (percussion instruments), Bouzouki (another string instrument), and Rebab (a traditional bowed string instrument).
Feedback: [email protected]
