88% of users say that sound is essential to the TikTok experience, and 72% of our audience associate specific songs with TikTok, but so far our brand identity was visually focused. As our reach expanded across audiences, we recognized an opportunity for a strategic branding shift through the creation of a sonic identity. Our objectives:

Brand recognition & off-platform attribution: With the rise in shortform video platforms, we needed to make sure our users' funny, heartfelt or informative videos were recognized as TikTok original content, even when they are shared to other platforms.

Brand perception: To dispel misconceptions about TikTok being about lip-sync and dance trends, we aimed to clarify and enrich our brand identity, ensuring people know TikTok as a trusted, inclusive space for diverse creativity.

Community engagement: Aligning to our mission to inspire creativity and bring joy, our sonic identity needed to fuel our community’s creative expression.

"The Sound of TikTok" is a sonic identity that embodies the platform’s vibrant creative spirit and diverse community. We leveraged TikTok's unique features to develop an interactive sonic brand, allowing creators to engage with our distinct sounds, fostering new content creation. This ensures our content is instantly recognizable as TikTok, distinguishing our brand on a global scale.

Our sonic identity amplifies the brand message through:

Universality: a sound that transcends genres, ages and regions, enhancing global resonance and inclusivity.

Raw & Unpolished: Incorporating user-generated sounds speaks to TikTok's ethos of authentic creative expression.

Onomatopoeia & Simplicity: The two-beat Sonic Logo reflects TikTok’s iconic name, designed for recognition and impact.

Remix-ability: We created Sonic Sticker assets specifically for community interaction, encouraging creators to explore and integrate our brand sound into their content.

These elements collectively strengthen TikTok’s brand identity, ensuring our message of creative freedom resonates worldwide.

Through extensive brand and competitor analysis, stakeholder interviews and creative workshops, we uncovered crucial strategic insights:

TikTok's sonic identity needed to transcend generations and genres to resonate with our global community.

56% of TikTok users resonate most strongly with human, unpolished content, so our sonic identity needed to capture the platform’s authentic essence.

Entertainment brands have successfully harnessed sonic branding as a tool to prime users for entertainment.

Recognizing TikTok’s remix culture, we sought to redefine what is possible with brand sound by creating a sonic identity usable not only by the brand, but also our users. This approach would differentiate TikTok as the originator of diverse and engaging content, reinforce our brand identity, enhance platform recognition, and fuel our community’s creativity through sound.

Finally, our sonic identity required flexibility to evolve with the ever-changing media landscape, ensuring continued relevance across our diverse markets and touchpoints.

TikTok’s sonic identity is a flexible system of sound. Nodding to TikTok’s name, the Sonic Logo is a two-beat onomatopoeic sound with a melodic twist. It opens with a detuned 808 sub-bass, echoing our hip hop and bass music roots, and concludes with a bright, unresolved E Major 7th arpeggio, sparking listener curiosity. Its timbre was designed to cut through and withstand high levels of exposure.

Our Sonic DNA Track is a long-form track, the brand's musical core. User-generated content (UGC) samples from TikTok’s community have been woven into the track’s distinct melody, hooks and beats. This makes it easily identifiable with TikTok and adaptable for various styles and campaigns.

Derived from the core DNA Track, adaptations offer stylistic flexibility for varying touchpoints and campaigns. For example, we created an adaptation for our Brazil Carnival 2024 campaign that incorporates local instruments such as the mandolin, tambourine and surdo drum to authentically capture the spirit of the celebration.

We also created world-first Sonic Stickers, shortform branded sounds enhancing the user experience, available in various styles and moods under "TikTok Sonic Collective" in app. These allow creators to experiment with TikTok's sonic identity and make it their own.

A diverse composer team crafted our sonic identity in a collaborative composition process, blending their influences to authentically represent our community. Rigorous consumer research, in-situ platform testing and stress testing ensured resonance among creators and consumers.

The rollout was meticulously planned:

Sonic Logo added to endcards of all shareable TikTok UGC videos and brand campaigns. Ensuring reach across all major social platforms and brand communications, further enhancing brand recognition.

Sonic Stickers available in-app pre-launch to boost interaction and community engagement.

Bespoke adaptations for global campaigns coinciding with major cultural events such as Carnival to maximize impact and reach.

The implementation of TikTok’s sonic branding has been transformative, with our Sonic Logo becoming one of the most rapidly recognized brand sounds in history. Our key results directly answer our initial objectives:

Recognition, Reach and Attribution: TikTok’s Sonic Logo has reached 80% recognition globally (Kantar 2024), and outperforms over 130 sonic brands on attribution (Soundout 2023). There has also been a 15% uplift in brand attribution as a result of the Sonic Logo appearing outside the TikTok platform.

Brand Perception / Change in Behaviour: The initiative has not only achieved a 25% increase in trustworthiness but also enhanced brand perception, with 84% of users associating the sound with positive emotions.

Engagement: Our sonic identity drives our community's creative expression, with 28,400+ organic UGC creations featuring our Sonic Stickers and DNA Track. Additionally, our campaign adaptations have resonated culturally with millions of diverse audiences globally.