JBL
My Song
Turning personal stories into songs, and unheard voices into artists.
JBL wanted to earn genuine credibility with Gen Z. Not through another music partnership, but through something that proved its belief that sound should be a stage open to everyone. The brief: connect authentically with a generation that can spot a marketing play instantly, and give them a real reason to feel that JBL was on their side.
The idea
We built MySong: a platform that turns real, personal stories into original songs, produced by an artist the audience already trusts. Rather than JBL speaking to Gen Z, MySong let Gen Z speak. AN gave them the platform of a professional artist to be heard. We partnered with Ronnie Flex, who stepped outside his own comfort zone to write and produce tracks based on stories submitted by the audience itself, turning vulnerability into something worth celebrating rather than hiding.
Bringing it to life
The campaign launched through Complex Netherlands and JBL's own channels (@JBLaudio_NL and @JBLaudio_BE), inviting young people across the Netherlands and Belgium to submit their stories: as poems, letters, voice notes, whatever form felt honest. The response was immediate: over 450 submissions within 24 hours. From those, three stories rose to the top, each becoming its own song and its own film.
Ziggy's story confronted racism, self-doubt, and resilience. Maeté's traced a friendship shaped by depression and Sandhia's closed the campaign with a story of female empowerment. Before the songs went public, all three were invited into the studio to hear their track for the first time. A moment we captured on film that became some of the campaign's most powerful content in its own right.
Impact
MySong gave JBL more than reach. It gave the brand proof. Proof that when you hand people a real platform instead of a slogan, they show up with stories worth telling, and an audience shows up to listen. It positioned JBL not as a sound brand talking about self-expression, but as one actively building the stage for it.
Reveal of the songs
I led MySong end to end as Creative Director. From the original strategic direction to JBL's brief, through concept development, executional oversight of the artist partnership, production teams, and social rollout across two markets.
services
creative direction
concept development
campaign strategy
social campaign
brand campaign
Client
JBL
Agency
Maak New Era Marketing
Creative Director
Roos Bulder
Film director
Jesse Plum
DOP
Valentijn Klomp
Art direction & design
Joëlle Strijk
Designers
Mike Stet & Lieve Vermeer
Project manager
Samantha Klein
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