How Innocean Berlin and Kia Created an Immersive Experience ‘Kia Soundscapes’ for the Visually Impaired

In a world where creativity meets technology, few campaigns manage to blend emotion, inclusivity, and innovation as seamlessly as Kia’s latest experiment, Soundscapes. Developed in collaboration with Innocean Berlin, Soundscapes reimagines the road trip—not just as a means of travel, but as a profound sensory journey. At its core lies a simple yet powerful belief: movement inspires ideas. And this belief has been brought to life through a pioneering fusion of AI, music, and purpose-driven creativity.

A Vision of Inclusion and Innovation

Kia has long embraced the philosophy of “Movement that Inspires,” but Soundscapes takes it a step further—by making inspiration accessible to those who experience the world differently. Designed specifically with visually impaired passengers in mind, the initiative explores how movement, translated into music, can create a meaningful and immersive connection to the surrounding world.

“At Kia, we believe movement inspires ideas, so we wanted to give visually impaired passengers the opportunity to experience the world differently,” said David Hilbert, Marketing Director at Kia Europe.

The idea? Let the car interpret the landscape through sound, allowing passengers to hear the beauty they can’t see.

Turning Landscapes into Sound

The project begins with technology. Using the advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) in the Kia EV9, the team at Innocean Berlin captured the nuances of the terrain—the rolling hills, sharp curves, wide-open skies, and everything in between. These data points were then fed into a custom AI system designed to translate visual elements into musical compositions.

To realize this vision, Innocean brought in Harald Schaack, a creative coder from grotesk.group, to engineer the AI, and Wonder Bettin, a music producer from DaHouse GmbH, to craft the audio experience. Bettin assigned musical timbres to different natural elements based on their perceived size, texture, and motion. For example, a dense forest might be represented by low, layered harmonies, while a mountain peak might translate into a soaring string section.

“Music holds limitless potential to inspire in ways previously unexplored,” Bettin explained. “Through hearing, it awakens the imagination in ways other senses cannot, offering fresh perspectives on familiar things.”

The Human Element: Real Stories, Real Emotions

To bring Soundscapes to life in a way that resonates beyond the realm of tech, Kia invited two individuals with vision loss to join a road trip across some of the world’s most breathtaking landscapes. As the car traveled, the AI composed a dynamic soundtrack in real time, enveloping the passengers in a rich, sensory-driven experience.

Their reactions—ranging from tears of joy to reflective awe—were captured in a series of short documentary films. These raw, emotional moments underscored the deeper purpose of the project: creating meaningful, inclusive experiences through technology.

“Kia Soundscapes allows people to experience the world in a completely new way,” said Gabriel Mattar, Chief Creative Officer at Innocean Berlin. “It embodies Kia’s philosophy of ‘Movement that Inspires’ and reflects our dedication to innovation and creating meaningful experiences.”

Why This Campaign Stands Out

In the saturated world of automotive advertising, Kia Soundscapes dares to do something different. It doesn’t just showcase a car; it champions empathy, accessibility, and creativity in equal measure. Here’s why it’s one of the most compelling creative campaigns in recent memory:

• Purpose-Driven Creativity: The project isn’t just about innovation—it’s about making a real difference.
• Sensory Storytelling: It taps into music and emotion, creating a visceral connection with the audience.
• AI with Empathy: The use of artificial intelligence isn’t cold or robotic—it’s human-centric.
• Inclusive Brand Messaging: Kia is positioning itself as a brand that thinks beyond its product.

Key Takeaways for Marketers and Creatives

• Inclusivity is Impactful: Designing for underrepresented groups doesn’t just fulfill a social good—it results in deeply compelling storytelling.
• Tech + Emotion = Magic: When innovative technology serves an emotional or human purpose, the results are powerful.
• Brand Values Matter: Kia’s commitment to “Movement that Inspires” is more than a tagline—it drives action, experimentation, and connection.

Final Thoughts

Kia Soundscapes is more than a marketing campaign—it’s a testament to the power of creative technology to drive empathy and inspiration. By turning landscapes into music and offering new ways to experience the world, Kia and Innocean Berlin have crafted something truly unique: a journey not just of miles, but of meaning.

For marketers, creatives, and storytellers alike, this campaign is a bold reminder that when brands align innovation with purpose, the results can be unforgettable.

Credits
Client: Kia Europe GmbH
Advertising Agency: INNOCEAN Worldwide

This campaign is about:
Kia Soundscapes, Visually impaired experience, Inclusive travel, AI-powered, Car technology, Accessibility, Accessibility innovation, Kia EV9 technology, Soundscapes experiment

How it works

Step1. Participation instruction was announced on Facebook and Instagram
Step2. Messages in handwritten notes, direct messages, GIPHY stickers, and AR selfies came through
Step3. Those messages were safely printed on to the Cheering Bandages
Stpe4. A total of 400,000 Cheering Bandages were delivered to healthcare workers nationwide
 
The instructions for participating in the campaign were announced through Facebook and Instagram. Thousands of handwritten messages, Direct messages, and AR selfies came in, resulting in 40,0000 cheering bandages being produced from 1,530 cheer messages. The campaign took 17 days and got a huge social media appraisal as the campaign video received over 4.1 million views and 16,000 likes and comments.
 

Credits
Client: Facebook
Campaign:
Advertising Agency: Innocean Worldwide, Seoul, Korea

Here retreat is no longer an option.
The Mekong River, it’s the last stand before 2,000 tons of trash flow into the ocean each day.

730,000 tons of trash a year that flow straight into the ocean, must be stopped.

The key is how.

Is there a way to protect the Earth without harming it?
Is there a way to engage people to be proactive?

Meet with Hanwha’s game-changing idea and the Clean Up Mekong campaign with solar boats.

Tags:
Innocean Worldwide, Advertising agency, New York Festivals Advertising Awards, Cannes Lions Awards, Clio Awards, COVID-19, Hanwha, Vietnam, Global Green Growth Institute, public awareness, sustainable development, social responsibility, Mekong River, Technology, Innovation

Women’s dignity and equal rights have long been the interests of Hyundai. When Saudi women were first granted the right to drive, Hyundai was at the forefront celebrating this momentous change with its #WhatsNext campaign. Its long-held support for women is now to come to life in Paris where the eighth edition of FIFA Women’s World Cup is taking place.

FWWC: The Women’s Game:

True passion breaks barriers. FIFA World Football Museum presented by Hyundai

The game as we know today did not certainly rise out of the blue. The survival of women football was continuously menaced by marginalization and bans around the world, social obstacles and prejudices, putting women footballer’s passion and talent to the toughest test. Yet, these women, instead of succumbing to the challenges, went the full distance, enduring rejections and hardships to welcome the launch of this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
The FIFA World Cup Museum presented by Hyundai will be an epitome of such “True Passion”. Taking visitors on a unique journey of women’s football history, Hyundai intends to uncover the countless stories of women footballers whose incredible resilience, strong will to play and continuous struggle for acceptance overpowered the immense social challenges lying ahead.
The exhibition is divided into three chapters: the history before the first Women’s World Cup in 1991, the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cups from 1991 to 2015 and the current tournament in France. Visitors can see in each chapter unique and original artifacts featuring fascinating stories, as well as official uniforms of the 24 national teams participating in the competition this year.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is the three most important trophies in the history of women’s football. Visitors will be able to see with their own eyes the current FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy as well as one of the two versions of the trophy made in 1991 and presented at the first two Women’s World Cups. Unfortunately, the other version of the cup was stolen in 1997 and has not been found to this day. The ‘Golden Angel’ trophy is also on display, giving visitors the opportunity to have a glimpse at the prize awarded in the first unofficial Women’s World Championship in 1970 that turned out to be a landmark success.

The trail-blazing journey then takes visitors to the special program that visualizes ‘True Passion’ – a portrait of the legendary female footballer, Mia Hamm, painted by Rachel Gadsden, the UK artist with visual impairment. The two women, although they work in completely different disciplines, pursued true passion throughout their careers by overcoming their inherent health conditions. Mia Hamm, born with a clubfoot, grew into a legendary football player with her unending passion for football. Rachel Gadsden continues to work across the mainstream to capture the human essence in her works despite her chronic lung condition.
Wonhong Cho, Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer of Hyundai Motor, said, “Throughout the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, Hyundai Motor has incorporated its long-held support for women’s dignity and equal rights into the True Passion campaign. We will put more efforts to grow as a company dedicated to strengthening women’s capabilities all around the world.”

Marcio Fazzone, the Managing Director of the FIFA World Football Museum added, “We are honored and proud to present the exciting history of women’s football by bringing the FIFA World Football Museum to Paris during the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, thanks to our esteemed partner Hyundai. Our anticipation of the tournament is as great as our enthusiasm for showing fascinating objects and telling great stories, some of which are not yet widely known.”
Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor also championed its vision of ‘clean mobility’ with the museum’s exterior. The exterior was made with automotive airbag material that will be upcycled into eco-friendly products for distribution to the local community once the exhibition ends. Hyundai Motor has been at the forefront of realizing sustainability management, devising various ways to recycle byproducts from the manufacturing processes.

Credits and Contributors of the FIFA World Cup Museum presented by Hyundai
Organizer and Design: Hyundai Motor Company
Content and Curation: FIFA World Football Museum
Project Management: INNOCEAN Worldwide
Realization: TRIAD Berlin

Tags:
Football Museum, Hyundai Motor, FIFA World Cup Museum, INNOCEAN Worldwide, FIFA World Football Museum, FIFA Women’s World Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019, Saudi women driver

In the lead up to the 2019 award season, Innocean Berlin created Save for Awards – the Photoshop plug-in that makes advertising award show entries a whole lot easier for every creative and agency out there.

The plug-in, available for free at saveforawards.com, takes your master file and automatically generates all the files you need to submit to every major award show out there. In seconds.

How it works

Download the script

-Place the file SaveForAwards.jsx in your Photoshop Scripts Folder.
Usually it is located here:

Mac:
Macintosh HD⁩/Applications/Adobe Photoshop CC 2019/Presets⁩/Scripts⁩

Windows:
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CC 2018\Presets\Scripts

Credits
Campaign: Save For Awards
Source: https://www.saveforawards.com/
Advertising Agency: Innocean Berlin, Germany
Chief Creative Officer: Gabriel Mattar
Executive Creative Director: Ricardo Wolff
Senior Art Director: José Gomes
Senior Copywriter: Pedro Lourenço

Tags:
Innocean Worldwide, Photoshop hack, Photoshop plug-in, Print, Germany, Agency Self-Promo, Save For Awards, Innocean, Ads of the World, Print advertising, Creative Print Ads, Print campaign, Creative Advert, Innovative technology ideas, Best Digital Campaigns, Digital Marketing Trends, Best Online marketing strategies, social media campaigns, Technology, Tech innovation