Title	A LIVING RIVER
Brand	HSBC
Product/Service	BRAND
Category	A05. Music / Sound Design
Entrant	J. WALTER THOMPSON London, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation	J. WALTER THOMPSON London, UNITED KINGDOM

Name	Company	Position
Axel Chaldecott	J. Walter Thompson London	Global Executive Creative Director
Joseph Petyan	J. Walter Thompson London	Global Executive Partner
Jonathan Terry	J. Walter Thompson London	Head of JWT Live
Tom O'Donnell	J. Walter Thompson London	Board Event Director
Mia Silverman	J. Walter Thompson London	Creative
Sophie Browness	J. Walter Thompson London	creative
Luke Kenny	J. Walter Thompson London	Business Director
Tom Ring	J. Walter Thompson London	Account Director
Gemma Swinglehurst	J. Walter Thompson London	Account Manager
Adam Lotz	J. Walter Thompson London	Planner
William Anderson	J. Walter Thompson London	Project Manager
Nick Ryan	Freelance	Sound Designer
Laurence Green	Freelance	Sound Designer
Terence Lloren	Delta Sound	Sound Designer
Sam Barker	Freelance	Photographer
Davey Williamson	Delta Sound	Sound Designer
Yusi Cheng	Freelance	Producer

The Campaign

HSBC have brought one of the world’s longest rivers to the sky by creating an ambitious and unique sound installation in Gatwick Airport’s Skybridge: ‘A Living River’. The experience brings to life the entire length of the Yangtze River, from source to mouth, travelling 6,300km using sound alone, giving travellers the chance to experience authentic sounds from the river in rich detail, featuring over a 100 hours of real sounds taken directly from locations along the Yangtze. Designed to transport people from one location to another, it makes people consider water and the river in a thought provoking manner. A key component of the idea was to make the experience responsive, meaning the soundscape adapts to time of day, weather and the movement of people, making it immersive and realistic.

Creative Execution

For over two minutes, passengers are immersed in real sounds from the river using 100 hours of multi-channel audio captured from 35 locations along the the Yangtze, taking people on a journey, before their journey. Imagery and messaging connects audio to location, while the layout of the microphone array was directly related to the layout of the speakers, so the real environments are superimposed in incredible detail and realism into the airport. The longest and most advanced soundscape created in an airport, the installation is made possible by over 60,000m of speaker cable – the length of 584 football pitches. The experience is controlled by a bespoke system and algorithm; it adapts to the time of the day, the movements and density of travellers and the weather on the Yangtze using a real time data feed, meaning every experience is unique and tailored appropriate to the time of day.