T-Mobile takes over the world

How a new brand use sonic branding to impact global markets

Put your brand everywhere

There’s a long stretch of tunnel, the subway picking up speed, the riders bent over their phones, some with their eyes buried in books. I see the novel IQ84 in one woman’s hand and watch her face. She’s lost in the unfolding Murakami world. I see it flicker across her face, these intersections of reality and dreams.

The subway is moving fast, peaking as fast as subways go, speeding under the steel feet of New York City.

And then I hear the tone.

Five notes.

The T-Mobile ringtone.

This is the story of its origin.

Build your network in all directions

It’s been over twenty years now. We had just opened our studios on Union Square. I remember when we were looking for space, and the agent showed us the 6th floor at 30 Irving. We wondered if anybody would come down there.

We were one of the first to get to the square. It seemed a long way from midtown. But the world was moving down to Union Square. It becomes over run soon enough.