ROTHCO, PART OF ACCENTURE INTERACTIVE Dublin, IRELAND
Idea Creation
ROTHCO, PART OF ACCENTURE INTERACTIVE Dublin, IRELAND
Production
ROTHCO, PART OF ACCENTURE INTERACTIVE Dublin, IRELAND
Additional Company
WARNER MUSIC London, UNITED KINGDOM
Credits
Name
Company
Position
Conor Cunniffe
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Copywriter
Jessica Derby
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Executive Producer
Rob Maguire
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Creative Director
Shane O’Riordan
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Design Director
Bronagh O'Donnavan
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Strategist
Sam Caren
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Art Director
Richard Carr
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
CEO | MD Accenture Interactive
Aisling Clarke
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Art Director
Niall Eccles
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Developer
Zara Flynn
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Managing Partner - Rothco Accenture Interactive
Alan Kelly
ROTHCO | ACCENTURE INTERACTIVE
Executive Creative Director
Jen Speirs
Rothco Part of Accenture Interactive
Executive Creative Director
Ray Swan
ROTHCO | ACCENTURE INTERACTIVE
Agency Creative Director
Patrick Hickey
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Executive Chairman
Raphael DaSilva
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Art Director, Designer, Motion Designer, Editor, Stop Motion Artist
Paul Power
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Video Editor
Cristiane Schmidt
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Art Director, Designer, Motion Designer, Editor, Stop Motion Artist
Gabriel Teixeira
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Art Direction, Designer, Motion Designer, 3D Generalist
Hannah Gallagher
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Post Producer
Sean Cushen
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Senior Account Manager
Clair Fleming
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Agency Resource & Operations
Lauren McNinney
Rothco, part of Accenture Interactive
Agency Resource & Operations
Why is this work relevant for Creative Data?
Lyric data has been collected for years and used solely for its primary intended function: to enable people to sing along. By looking at the untapped potential of this data and unlocking the therapeutic aspects of the lyrics, this project empowers Speech & Language therapists with a tool that their patients genuinely want to engage with.
Background
As part of Warner Music Group’s corporate social responsibility, they support initiatives in music with positive social impact. Musicians have long used their art to help with speech sound disorders (including WMG’s Ed Sheeran), so this area was a perfect fit.
Speech and language therapists have an arsenal of tools at their disposal which can help their patients. Most of these patients are children, however, which raises a problem that most tools can’t overcome - how to keep kids engaged in their therapy.
We set out to provide speech and language therapists with a unique and accessible new tool that could help their patients practise the sounds they struggle with in a way that doesn’t bore them: by reimagining speech therapy within the world of popular music.
Describe the Creative idea / data solution (20% of vote)
Repetition is key to overcoming a Speech Sound Disorder, but for kids, repetition is boring. Except when it happens in music. Warner Music teamed up with Apple Music to analyse over 70 million song lyrics, isolating songs in which particular sounds occur in particular patterns that are beneficial for speech therapy. These songs were collated into Saylists: playlists categorised by problem sounds, providing an easy, accessible, and enjoyable way for kids to practise the sounds they have trouble with, simply by singing along to their favourite songs.
Describe the data driven strategy (30% of vote)
The strategic approach to this brief consisted of analysing an existing data set for its previously unrealised therapeutic potential. A linguistic analysis of sounds in speech therapy is not dissimilar to linguistic analysis of poetry, or song lyrics. By using one set of techniques on a unique data source, we were able to unlock therapeutic potential that had previously been untapped.
This meeting of two worlds is particularly relevant when our target audience was considered: a group which overlaps both the audience for pop music, and the age-group most likely to have a Speech Sound Disorder (SSD): young people. Saylists provides this cohort with an easily accessible way to practise the sounds they struggle with in a way that’s fun, engaging and – most importantly – not boring.
Describe the creative use of data, or how the data enhanced the creative output (30% of vote)
We developed an algorithm to analyse song lyrics for specific sounds occurring with a certain frequency, as well as other conditions such as proximity to similar sounds and placement within a sentence. The algorithm then analysed over 70 million songs in search of those that demonstrated genuine therapeutic value, the largest data analysis of lyrics ever. All were scored and ranked. Songs that scored highest and fit listener profile were compiled into Saylists categorised by problem sound.
The Saylists were launched on Apple Music where they are easily accessible to all, with supporting communications on social channels. The Saylists will be available indefinitely, with data available to create additional Saylists in the future to continually refresh the platform and the offering to listeners.
List the data driven results (20% of vote)
Within a week of launch, Saylists were already being recommended by therapists, and used in therapy sessions; the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy expressed their excitement at the project’s release, and the department of English Language Teaching at Cambridge University has gone so far as to publish lesson plans to bring Saylists into classrooms. The project was enthusiastically welcomed and praised around the globe, reaching an audience of over 42.5 million purely through earned media and word of mouth. Due to these results, Apple Music are now developing the project for other music in other languages.