INTERNATIONAL REPORT—CitizenM has launched Brainwaves, a new musical solution for common travel issues including jet lag, focus and anxiety. There are three tracks—created for focus, anxiety and sleep—and they are the result of research from a neuroscience perspective.
To bring this concept to fruition, CitizenM forged a partnership of experts, including neuroscientists at Goldsmiths, University of London and the record label Erased Tapes. The project has garnered the support of Bose Corporation.
“It’s something new for me, and it was also quite a learning curve,” said Maurice Ajanaku, director of marketing, who helped spearhead the project. “I’m not a musician and I’m not a scientist, but it’s interesting to be part of the process and understand the intricacies of how sound, on a subconscious level, plays a part in how your brain responds. It differs from person to person, and there are general rules to adhere to help them be supported by those states.”
Initially, the concept came together with the help of the Soundscape Agency, a creative music firm based in London. “At CitizenM, we try to create a whole experience,” he said. “From day one, we worked with Soundscape to create an audio identity, and working with them, we regularly discussed what we could do as an audio conversation. We wanted to see what CitizenM could do to alleviate pain points during the stay and how we could extend it outside of the four walls, from the journey here to departure.”
The brand’s overall goal is to embody the mobile business traveler. Ajanaku believes these tools can help the lifestyles of guests at CitizenM, supporting them in not just the stay, but everything around the stay.
“Soundscape is our main partner when it comes to sound. They knew the neuroscientists and helped to link us with the right people. We found the record label Erased Tapes, and they’re more experimental and open to trying new things. They brought in three great composers—Michael Price, Högni and Ben Lukas Boysen. It was a collaboration between all parties,” he said.
With the ability to listen to these tracks anywhere on property or at home, CitizenM sought to work with Bose for its expertise in delivering high-quality audio and technology. “They’re a brand that is open to these kinds of things and can support this,” he said. “They can provide a supportive role and understand the science and technology behind it. They provide products for the business traveler, which is our audience as well. It was the perfect fit for us.”
Over the brand’s 10 years in existence, the team at CitizenM has put a strong focus on how to make the travel experience as frictionless as possible for its core guest—the business traveler.
“If you’re doing business travel, you should be focused on business and not the things that are not happening at the hotel. We’ve done numerous consumer focus groups on other guest experience projects,” he said. “In the feedback we’ve received, it’s always about the moment they walk through the door. It’s their home away from home. If we can get guests to a state of relaxation, then they’re already a bit more relaxed when they check in, they’re ready to focus on their work or get some rest.”
