TikTok sonic identity outperforms peers, new Kantar research shows

New research conducted by data analytics and brand consulting company Kantar has claimed that TikTok’s sonic logo has helped reinforce brand awareness and affinity. Launched in late 2022, the audio brand was created by international creative music agency MassiveMusic.

The performance of TikTok’s new audio identity was tracked with 9,000 consumers across eight key markets. Obtaining feedback which used words like ‘unique’, ‘entertaining’ and ‘welcoming’, nearly three quarters of respondents associated the sonic logo with positive emotions.

The research also indicates the sonic logo is immensely recognisable, with the global study revealing a 52% recognisability rate (40% higher than the average for a new sonic logo). This is backed up by SoundOut’s Audio Branding Index 2023, which found 70% recognition.

Roscoe Williamson, global creative strategy and innovation director at MassiveMusic and Songtradr, says, “TikTok is a brand that moves at the speed of culture – something trending today can be forgotten tomorrow, so creating its first sonic brand has been an incredibly exciting challenge for MassiveMusic.

“Over the last year, we have collaborated closely with TikTok and become wholly immersed in its brand experience to fully understand how to create the perfect sonic identity for the brand and its community. We needed something that reflected its creative nature, felt fresh and enjoyable yet raw and unpolished, that could extend across various brand assets, yet be flexible in its nature to evolve. The need was complex, to say the least! But the result, which has been rigorously tested, represents the global cultural significance of the brand in a distinctive and holistic way.”