The Sound of TikTok is an interactive sonic identity that empowers our community to experiment on the platform, aligning with TikTok's mission to inspire creativity and bring joy. Our sonic identity includes a Sonic Logo, DNA Track, Adaptations and Sonic Stickers. They celebrate our community's creativity, and are used ubiquitously across user-generated content (UGC), campaigns, events and other brand touchpoints. Validated by Kantar, with 80% of users globally recognizing our sonic identity and 84% associating it with positive attributes, the Sound of TikTok is one of the most rapidly recognized brand sounds in the world.

We designed TikTok's sonic branding to resonate across all global brand touchpoints, addressing our diverse global audience of over 1 billion users. TikTok’s Music Impact Report revealed that users exhibit a stronger preference for international music compared to the average music listener. This led us to craft a sonic identity that mirrors our audience's eclectic taste in global sounds—from emerging K-pop tracks to Brazil's vibrant baile funk genre.

Our Sonic Logo and longer-form DNA Track are engineered to blend universal appeal with cultural specificity. They feature a distorted 808 sub-bass—a tribute to the hip-hop and bass music genres that thrive on our platform—and an ascending E Major 7th melody, which is emotionally inviting and designed to resonate universally. The UGC-inspired and genre-agnostic approach of our longer-form music ensures our sonic branding is adaptable to various cultural settings.

For example, during Brazil’s 2024 Carnival, we tailored our DNA Track to reflect the local festive spirit in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. This special edition incorporated traditional Brazilian instruments like the mandolin, tambourine and surdo drum, enhancing the Carnival atmosphere and ensuring deep cultural resonance. Such adaptations underscore our brand’s commitment to engaging with the diverse experiences of our users, making TikTok an integral part of their cultural landscapes.

Our Sonic Logo is a simple two-beat onomatopoeic sound with a melodic twist. It opens with a detuned 808 sub-bass hit, nodding to our musical roots like hip hop and other popular genres, and ends with a bright, uplifting, yet unresolved E Major 7th arpeggio, drawing listeners in while asking them, "what’s next?"

Our Sonic DNA Track is a longer-form track, the brand's musical core. It features a unique melody that includes UGC samples from the global TikTok community, ensuring it is identifiable with the brand and adaptable for various styles and campaigns.

Derived from the DNA Track, our adaptations in different styles and genres offer stylistic flexibility for various touchpoints and cultural needs.

We also introduced world-first “Sonic Stickers,”short tracks within the app, derived from our core sonic elements. They allow creators to experiment with and personalize our sonic identity, enhancing their content and app experience.

Not applicable, no lyrics in tracks.

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 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.

For TikTok’s Brazil Carnival 2024 campaign, we created a bespoke adaptation that would authentically resonate with the local audience by infusing Brazil's rich musical heritage. Delving into the heart and soul of Carnival, we reimagined our DNA Track to capture the essence of this iconic celebration. The adaptation incorporated a fusion of traditional and contemporary Brazilian musical elements, drawing inspiration from the renowned "samba-enredo" of samba schools to the beloved "marchinhas" of street blocos. We recorded the distinctive melodic hooks and beats of our DNA Track using the unmistakable sounds of Brazilian Carnival including:

The melodic harmonies of the mandolin.

Rhythmic beats of the tambourine.

Resonant pulse of the surdo drum.

This strategic alignment with regional cultural moments underscores TikTok’s commitment to being a part of our users' cultural landscapes, enhancing their experience and their connection to the brand.