Wondery

Long before Dr. Death or Dirty John would become cultural phenomenona, Wondery was a pioneer in an emerging podcast landscape.

Founded in 2016 by media executive Hernan Lopez, Wondery’s roots in entertainment have fueled their dedication to telling immersive stories that move audiences. But with only a handful of shows in development, Wondery needed a sonic identity that could scale with the network’s growth and set the brand apart in a growing market.

The sonic identity would need to:

• Establish emotional connections with listeners by building anticipation and trust with every episode

• Embody Wondery’s promise of immersive, high-quality storytelling

• Position Wondery as a pioneer in audio-first entertainment

Made Music Studio was Wondery’s top choice to create a brand theme and sonic logo that could turn consumers into fans. Our experience creating iconic music for legacy brands such as HBO, ESPN and IMAX would lay the foundation to our approach to a new medium: podcasting.

We centered on the concept of “Feel the Story,” which would become Wondery’s tagline in future campaigns. How could we create a memory trigger for the emotional journey audiences would take once they hit “play”?

The creative approach was similar to creating an ident for a television network. This meant the sound would stand for its entire slate of programming, not just individual shows. In addition, the music would be flexible enough to span multiple genres — from true crime to pop culture history — and instantly signal Wondery’s reputation as a premium content studio.

To translate this concept into sound, we designed the sonic logo like a story itself: with a beginning, middle and end. The sonic structure instantly captures listeners’ emotions and signals that something extraordinary was about to unfold. Human, dynamic and timeless as any network identity, the sound of Wondery is a powerful differentiator in the podcasting world.

Still in use today, the sonic identity continues to represent Wondery across podcasts and beyond into film and television adaptations. By turning “Feel the Story” into sound, we helped Wondery pioneer the role of sonic branding in podcasting, creating a lasting, human-centered identity that continues to resonate with audiences worldwide.