Listen Up: Superfly Builds Out 'Sonic' Branding, Experience Business

Although Superfly may be best known for its festivals, such as Bonnaroo and Outside Lands, the company is actually comprised of two separate practices.

The "Owned and Operated" side handles the popular festivals, as well as the burgeoning experiential space, which recently introduced the "Friends" Pop Up with co-partner Warner Bros. It will soon launch The Seinfeld Experience.

The Agency side, comparatively, developed at the behest of clients seeking their creative content around their festival branding and sponsorship deals. 

This week, Superfly announced it is acquiring Listen, a so-called “sonic” branding and experience shop to work across both sides of the company. This will range from developing creative experiences with musical artists, like Childish Gambino, to working with brands to introduce voice enabled projects and campaigns.

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"With the growth in voice enabled tech, the sound sector has become a huge area of growth and creativity," says Rich Goodstone, cofounder, Superfly. "There is definitely client demand for these services as brands grapple with their sonic strategies." 

Under the deal, Listen will continue to operate under its own name. Superfly will continue to evaluate operational structures and locations, but no changes are imminent.

"We are here to hyper-charge their growth," says Goodstone. They clearly align with our mission of creating shared experiences that shape how the world plays and connects, he says. "We have a unique skill set, as does Listen, which made it an extremely attractive partnership with a unified growth strategy."

The Listen and Superfly teams met five years ago via a Microsoft/Bonnaroo collaboration. "We became fast friends and for years kicked around ideas about what we could do together," says Goodstone. "These guys [at Listen] are not only deep in music theory, but strategists looking at all the touchpoints of sound within a brand’s ecosystem and how they interact with the human psyche." 

Superfly isn't ruling out additional deals as the company builds out its "attention economy" model.

"We look to build creative-led entertainment platforms and cultural programs that drive commerce for ourselves and brand partners," he says. "We are looking to grow and will continue to find the right areas of focus, but just as importantly, the right people that fit Superfly and its mission."

 

 

 

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