Music producer and sound designer from MassiveMusic discuss the creation of TikTok's iconic sonic logo, detailing the meticulous process, covert marketing strategy, and final debate over a single note. The podcast explores the unexpected impact of a dog bark in the logo, TikTok's Sonic DNA strategy, and the fusion of science and art in sonic branding.
Creating TikTok's distinctive Sonic logo involved thousands of iterations, covert marketing, and consumer testing to choose an E major seventh chord.
TikTok's strategic placement of its Sonic logo at the end of videos on other platforms led to rapid recognition and success in branding through sound.
Deep dives
The Evolution of TikTok's Sonic Branding
TikTok, with over 700 million users, lacked a distinct Sonic identity despite its heavy focus on adding music to videos. Partnering with Massive Music, TikTok aimed to create a unique Sonic logo. After a lengthy pitch process and thousands of iterations, TikTok's Sonic logo, known as the boom bling, featured an 808 kick drum and an ascending chord to convey joy and creativity. The logo's E major seventh chord was chosen over a simpler E major chord after consumer testing revealed that it resonated better with TikTok's desire to appeal to a broader audience.
The Implementation of Sonic Branding on TikTok
Beyond the Sonic logo, TikTok developed a comprehensive Sonic brand strategy, including a Sonic DNA with different mood variations for ads and content. Short tracks named Sonic stickers were created to integrate branded sounds into videos, influencing creators to use them seamlessly. These Sonic stickers were initially introduced incognito under the alias Sonic Collective, garnering over 30,000 pieces of user-generated content.
TikTok's Innovative Sonic Brand Strategy
TikTok strategically embedded its Sonic logo at the end of downloaded videos, ensuring its presence even when shared on other platforms like Instagram and YouTube. This approach significantly increased the recognition of TikTok's Sonic logo across various platforms in a short time frame, with over 50% of individuals spontaneously recognizing the sound just three months post-launch. The success of TikTok's Sonic branding showcases the importance of sound as a pivotal branding element in the digital landscape.
TikTok’s sonic logo is one of the fastest growing sonic logos in history. Today, that little sound is being heard millions of times a day on apps like Instagram, Reddit and Youtube… but creating it wasn’t easy. To make it, the creative team went through thousands of iterations, executed a covert marketing strategy, and fought through a final debate about a single note. Featuring Roscoe Williamson and Aifric Lennon from MassiveMusic.
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