Accenture Song

Generating growth through relevance – Accenture Song Brand Germany is convinced of this formula for success. With analytical precision and technology-based ideas, solutions are created that go straight to the heart of the respective target group. This was also convincingly achieved at the legendary metal festival in Wacken: for Krombacher, the creatives put together a band of endangered animals that loudly promoted species conservation. The result? Lots of headbanging and a huge amount of donations, as well as a viral hit.

Interview with Accenture Song

Red Dot: How did the idea of combining Krombacher’s commitment to species protection and sponsorship of Wacken Open Air come about?
Accenture Song: Both Krombacher, with its decades-long commitment to the rainforest, and Wacken, with its claim to be a green festival, credibly stand for protection of species. So it made sense to bring the two brands together to cast this important message into “metal” for over 80,000 visitors.

For the campaign, you put together a metal band whose “singers” are endangered animals. How did the recording of the songs go?
We worked with Pitchback Studios, who wrote and recorded several songs especially for the animals. Since the vocal booth wasn’t big enough for bison and lynx, we worked with existing recordings of animal sounds, songs and screams that served as inspiration for the human musicians’ songwriting.

With over 85,000 streams and 18 million impressions in just two weeks, the response was huge. How do you explain the success? And how was the response at the festival?
It was important for us to shout the message of species protection out loud and be authentically “metal” at the same time. Most of the creatives, producers and musicians involved are absolute metalheads themselves. The festival visitors sensed this and honoured it with headbanging.

Is it now essential to consider whether a campaign concept will also spread via social media once it has been published?
Social media is indispensable, especially for community-involving communication. However, you should not succumb to the temptation to create a “viral hit” at all costs. It is more about respecting and appreciating the respective culture. This is particularly important for brands – if they communicate in a culturally offensive or appropriative way, they will be rightly penalised by users.