Max De Lucia is the co-founder and client director at specialist sonic branding agency DLMDD.
He spoke to Econsultancy about how he came to co-found a sonic branding agency, his favourite tools for getting the job done, and how DLMDD measures success.
Please describe your job: What do you do?
Max De Lucia: As a business we work at the collision of music and brands – we help brands find their sound. My job as Client Director is twofold: to welcome clients through the doors of DLMDD and to ensure their journey into and through the worlds of music and sound are career and life experiences they will never forget.
Whereabouts do you sit within the organisation? Who do you report to?
Max De Lucia: I’m one of four founding partners – of course one of the joys of having your own business is that you don’t report in to anyone! In reality, we report in to our clients and each other.
What kind of skills do you need to be effective in your role?
Max De Lucia: A balance of knowing when to make gut decisions and when it’s best to sleep on it…
And then all the ones you’d expect – energy, enthusiasm, resilience, camaraderie and teamwork. Most importantly, to do things with a smile and a healthy dollop of laughter along the way.
Tell us about a typical working day…
Max De Lucia: First thing I do in the morning is turn on LBC with Nick Ferrari and the business updates with David Buik.
Then it’s off to the station. I make every effort to miss the rush hour and travel overground. I hate the underground.
Where I head to depends upon the day. It could be into the office to do the running of the business. Or it could be off to a recording studio to bring music to life. Or off to unveil new work to a client.
Or working on winning the next big thing – which happens wherever in the world you are and whenever there’s a minute in the schedule.
What do you love about your job? What sucks?
Max De Lucia: Love –
The people. Partners, colleagues and clients.
That our work makes music making happen.
Telling people about what we do.
Shaping and evolving what DLMDD is today, tomorrow and beyond.
Sucks –
When dreams are overtaken with storylines and narratives of work-related nightmares!
What kind of goals do you have? What are the most useful metrics and KPIs for measuring success?
Max De Lucia: There’s two sides to this question. The business side and the life side.
On the former, we’re all competitive people. Our goal is to evolve our industry and be the best at what we do. We are building a flourishing business and naturally we want to see that trajectory continue.
To the latter, we want DLMDD to be a special place for people to work. It’s important to us that we attract talent who work hard but also know that life happens outside of the office walls too.
The ultimate success for us as Partners is seeing people thrive in both their work and personal lives and for the business to be a powerful catalyst for that.
What are your favourite tools to help you to get the job done?
Max De Lucia: White shirts, a pen and (nice) notebook – very forgetful otherwise – the contacts area of my phone, noise cancelling headphones – silence is golden – and a piano if there is one to hand….
How did you end up founding DLMDD, and where might you go from here?
Max De Lucia: That’s probably a story for over a beer or two. The simple answer is we all worked together in a former business life and spotted an opportunity to do something different and new. Brand sound has boomed over the past year or so and the marketplace felt ready for the launch of a specialist agency to help clients navigate the world of sonic branding. We’ve had a stonking 2019 and looking forward to world domination in 2020 and beyond!
Which advertising has impressed you lately?
Max De Lucia: Beermunch. It’s in my head. Just googled, looks disgusting.
What advice would you give to a marketer starting out?
Max De Lucia: It’s a fickle world. Find the good people.
