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Global Partnership Positioning & Passion Point Strategies

Black background with the white text 'SONOS' in the center.

Overview

❋ The Challenge

Sonos faces a familiarity gap: shallow awareness, getting lost in category tropes, and a risk of being overshadowed when partnering in culture. The brand has struggled to re-establish a relevant, attention-worthy identity and consistent narrative but sees an opportunity to reassert its tastemaker status via four consumer passion points: music, cinema, sports, curation. Two orders of positioning were missing: general partnership and passion point specific. But the main question to answer: What is the uniquely-Sonos POV that unlocks our right to lead in these passion spaces?

❋ The Relevance Unlock

In a category driven by volume, function and scale, Sonos will not compete in the race to bottom where the loudest wins. Our opportunity is depth, emotion, connection. It’s to lead through considered choices and meaningful experiences, not desperate ploys and vapid plays. 

Partnerships are how Sonos signals taste in practice. By thoughtfully selecting like-minded partners, Sonos demonstrates how it understands and respects each passion point. 

So we armed Sonos with a universal partnership platform that reaches passionate consumers of all kinds: Sound Matters. Then, detailed how to select partner that pay off strategic needs and align with brand values — all in service of showing how Sonos makes it possible to appreciate great sound at home.

❋ The Outcome

Recent work — results not yet available.

What We Delivered

Custom Research

Cultural + Category Intelligence

General Partnership Positioning

Passion Point Positioning

Strategic Jobs to Do

Partner Evaluation Criteria

Project Duration: 3 weeks

A collage with four images, each labeled with text: Top-left shows a music recording studio with musicians playing instruments; Top-right shows a person in a dark athletic outfit, labeled 'Sports Enthusiasts'; Bottom-left depicts two people watching a movie in a dark theater, labeled 'Cinephiles'; Bottom-right shows an art gallery with several images projected on the wall, labeled 'Curators'.

For a cohort of consumers who pride themselves on discernment, it was critical that Sonos work with respected craftspeople and entities who share a belief in quality sound, so the brand could authentically connect with these audiences, generate talk value, and raise brand perception.

Black cylindrical Sonos speaker lying on a white surface.

In a category dominated by loud, expressive, and overly commercial brands, let’s be the authority in a seamless listening experience for those who truly understand the value of quality sound.

A black background with a quote in red text that says, 'Sonos needs to show, not tell, the value of elevated, dimensional sound.'

In a deeply experiential space, immersion and proof of quality are critical unlocks.

“Quick Study is a smart, thoughtful, and creative team that will deliver on your needs and also happens to be a blast to work with.”

Quick Study Client, Anonymous Feedback Survey 2026

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