Why Emotional Connections Establish and Reinforce Story with Katrina Encanto

Q> Please tell us your name and what you do professionally.

Katrina> I’m Katrina and I come up with ideas to build brands and influence culture.

Q> Can you tell us about your first truly memorable musical experience and how it impacted you. Why do you remember it so clearly?

Katrina> My mother loved classical music and would keep this playing throughout the day at home. One time, she gave me audio books that introduced classical masters like Beethoven, Mozart, and Vivaldi. One of them featured a girl called Katarina, a young violinist sent to study music in an Venetian orphanage. It was the first time I remember music and sound being used to paint a story, and I was immediately transported to seventeenth century Venice, feeling all the emotions of a little girl in search for clues of her past and a missing violin. Since then, I’ve always valued music as a way of creating mental pictures and evoking emotion. Later on as an art director, I would treat radio as a visual medium, and would often write scripts that would let you imagine a scene through sound. My first ever Cannes Lion was actually for a radio campaign.

Q> Give us an insight into the most memorable project you executed and did music play a role in it?

Katrina> My partner EJ and I have worked on some recent projects which used music to create pioneering brand activations, like the first ever interactive concert experience on Spotify, and a TikTok filter that turned dance moves into music. Those gave us invaluable knowledge in using tech to push the boundaries of how we enjoy music.

But one of the most memorable music-based projects I was ever involved with was Granny Got Pants for Sloggi, mostly because music was so key in helping us land an unapologetic message about comfort in a lighthearted way. Sloggi was a challenger in the underwear category, and for its 40th anniversary, we needed a bold campaign to stand out from the clutter. Having created the original maxi pants, the brand was often referred to as ‘granny pants’, and rather than being ashamed of it, we wanted to embrace that reputation. So we rewrote the lyrics of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s Baby Got Back and turned it into an unapologetic anthem for comfort, rapped by one badass granny.

Q> What’s the most unexpected place or situation where you’ve found inspiration for a music or sound approach?

Katrina> I’ve had the luck of living in five countries over the last 19 years, and through this journey, I have managed to build a wide range of references to draw from. Going to concerts was my #1 indulgence, and antidote to any loneliness I was feeling from being away from home. I have seen Sondre Lerche in Bandung, Fun in Malaysia, Belle and Sebastian in Milan, Elvis Costello in London, The Sacred Souls in Amsterdam, amongst many others. But beyond just enjoying the music I already know, I was also able to discover the amazing local artists that would open for the main acts, which broadened my musical influences. Additionally, in some of these places, I didn’t always fully understand the language, so I became more attuned to the music and sound of a place to appreciate its soul. I’d take note of the way trains sound, the clatter in street markets, and the rhythm of chatter that don’t make sense. I love how sound communicates in ways that are less direct than words, and I think that’s helped in my line of work, as I always treat music as a key ingredient in communicating a feeling or adding cultural nuance in subtle measures.

Q> Can you tell us about your favourite recording or mix session?

Katrina> One of my most favourite recording sessions was for a mockumentary we did for Gatorade featuring a real person called Drink Water Rivera. The Philippines was one of the brand’s key markets and we needed to land an educational campaign specifically for it. Having left the Philippines in 2010, I hadn’t really made work for my home country in 13 years, and this project gave me a chance to create a memorable piece that reflected our humour and sensibilities. We wanted everything to be inspired by our unique hero. Music-wise, we had briefed for a thoughtful track with playful instruments, and Ashley Bates and the good people at Adelphoi delivered perfectly. We then did the sound mix at Wave Amsterdam, where we had good fun discussing the sound of roosters in the morning, Manila jeepneys, and typical Filipino wedding music. It’s all these little discussions that make or break a piece of work, and often we forget how valuable it is to have different influences in a room to make a project shine. I’ll always be grateful for everyone involved in creating the soundtrack for this, as it played a huge role in getting the balance right, landing the humour, and making sure it felt culturally authentic.