Music & Sounds

Jingles, in-store music & auditory identifiers

Sound is the most underused dimension of brand identity.

Music and sound encompass every auditory element associated with a brand: the jingle, the sonic logo, the music played in stores or in ads, the notification sound on an app, the hold music on a customer service call. Collectively, these form an auditory identity that works independently of visuals and can trigger brand recognition in contexts where nothing else is present.

Most brands think about sound opportunistically (picking music for a specific ad) rather than strategically (building a consistent auditory identity). The result is an incoherent audio experience where different touchpoints produce different emotional impressions, undermining the cohesion the visual identity is trying to create.

How strong brands handle it

The same building block, handled well. These are approaches and illustrations from how brands tend to work, not rules, and never a ranking of companies.

Sonic logos

The Intel bong, the Netflix 'ta-dum', and the McDonald's 'ba da ba ba baa' are among the most recognized sonic logos in the world. Their power comes from consistency of use over time across every possible context.

Music as brand language

Brands like Abercrombie & Fitch and Aesop have used in-store music as a deliberate brand signal, selecting tracks that communicate the brand's aesthetic and target audience without a word being said.

App and product sound design

Digital brands like Slack and Apple treat notification sounds, interaction tones, and startup sounds as part of the brand system, ensuring that the auditory feel of the product matches the visual and verbal identity.

Questions to explore

Use these on your own or in a group. There are no right answers, only better conversations.

What does our brand sound like, and is that sound consistent across the contexts where people encounter us?
If someone heard our ad without seeing it, would they know it was us from the music or sound alone?
Are there auditory touchpoints in our customer experience that currently feel generic or misaligned with our brand?
What emotional quality should our brand's sound evoke, and does our current audio achieve that?
Do we have guidelines for the music and sounds used in our communications, or is it decided case by case?

Things to notice

Licensing a popular song for an ad creates temporary association, not a lasting auditory identity. The song's associations belong to the song, not to the brand.
Auditory brand elements require the same commitment as visual ones: inconsistency across touchpoints undermines the investment.
Sound has a powerful emotional impact, but it is easily overlooked in brand reviews that focus on visual audits.