WETA PBS — Custom Sonic Brand

Stephen Arnold Music was tasked with creating WETA’s first-ever sonic brand, a leading PBS station group and content creator in the country. The classically-inspired sonic signature, featuring a modern, upbeat sound performed on piano and strings, is used alongside new visual branding on WETA and each of its five sub- channels.
The sonic brand provides WETA with an instantly recognizable audio signature, while embracing its array of content and appealing to its diverse audience. It’s warm, inspiring and uplifting, while evoking trust, intelligence, quality, and enrichment.
A small group of live chamber musicians captured a live, spontaneous and organic sound. The result is an actual performance, which gives an organic depth and richness not found in digital samples and processing. Additionally, the studio produced a long-form anthem based on the sonic signature, specifically designed for branding promos, program teases and other core marketing media. An abbreviated collection of sonically branded tracks is also being used for WETA National Productions, whose programming ranges from PBS NewsHour and Washington Week to Ken Burns documentaries.
WETA’s sonic signature has also been rated by SoundOut as one of the fastest growing sonic brands in the country. SoundOut is the world leader in audio branding testing, and their research indicates that listeners are overwhelmingly responding to and connecting with WETA’s new audio identity.
SAM also expanded the WETA sonic brand and musical themes to reflect the drama, intrigue, romance, action and mystery of WETA UK’s new on-air image campaign. The uplifting orchestral theme – exuding quality, sophistication and authenticity - plays under a lively montage of clips from UK series, both classic and contemporary, while supporting the theme, “British Television at Its Best.”

The theme has a modular structure with bits of romance, mystery and drama woven through it. The string sections give it heart and passion. You also hear French horn, English horn and a piccolo trumpet. Together, they give it a “British-esque” color. The theme is rich enough to suggest both a variety of genres and different eras.