The ‘Engaging Voices’ visual identity rolled out globally at the end of last year and focuses on Phonak underlining goal: to ensure consumers have a voice, by delivering a richer, clearer hearing experience and so allowing them to fully engage with the world around them. It has been creatively brought to life by a rich visual soundscape that illustrates everyday challenging listening situations that consumers face, such as crowded restaurants, windy parks and noisy urban spaces.

Developed in close cooperation with Saatchi & Saatchi, one of the world’s leading advertising agencies, the new visual identity will be leveraged holistically by appearing in the point-of-sale, traditional advertising, business-to-business communication and digital platforms.

The concept is building on insights of the Sergej Kochkin MarkeTrak VIII 2010 study which states that consumer satisfaction is dependent on the number of situations hearing instrument wearers can hear well and are satisfied with. They are then more likely to continue wearing their device, as well as recommending it to other users.

Voicing the needs of the consumer

This unique soundscape design aims to establish a stronger emotional bond with hearing care professionals and consumers by putting them and their needs at the heart of the brand’s marketing materials. It also reflects the fact that Phonak devices are developed with the consumer’s requirements at the forefront of every decision made during the creation process. The new visual identity was developed in response to invaluable insights from hearing care professionals, who have highlighted the fact that effective communication is key – whether between manufacturer and dispenser, dispenser and consumer or ultimately in the consumer’s social environment.

Giuliana Mandelli, account lead at Saatchi & Saatchi in Geneva, explains: “Most hearing instrument manufacturers focus on hearing in their campaigns, however we wanted to move beyond this and focus on the voice of the consumers, highlighting the benefits of social interactions. The voice is our ultimate connection to the world, and when we can fully hear we can in turn make our voices heard.”

‘Engaging Voices’ was first presented last year when the new Phonak Platform Quest was launched. The Quest platform celebrates the latest leap in hearing aid technology, featuring Binaural VoiceStream Technology™, which enables those who are affected by hearing loss to fully engage with the sounds of life - even in the most challenging of listening environments.

Maarten Barmentlo, Group Vice President Marketing at Phonak says: “Our latest generation of products build on the Binaural VoiceStream Technology™ and its unique ability to stream, in real-time, bi-directionally and the full audio bandwidth. This allows users to have a voice in even more challenging listening situations than ever before. The new visual identity fits perfectly with this promise and we are very pleased that we have found such an elegant solution to communicate both our brand promise ‘Life is on’ and the benefits of the Phonak Quest platform.”