Brands search for sonic signatures

The Future. Replacing last century’s full-song jingle is the handful-of-notes sonic signature — a distinctive, catchy tune that creates subconscious brand recognition. Our days are filled with these sounds, so every organization wants one that rises above the white noise. But with signatures being so brief, we may realize decades from now few have the same staying power of the blunt instrument that was the classic jingle.

Jingle no more
WaPo’s Michael Andor Brodeur breaks down the rise of brand earworms.

• These sonic signatures include Netflix’s “ta-DUM,” McDonald’s “Ba da ba ba ba,” and Mastercard’s “Ta-run-tun-ta-run-tun” (you know it when you hear it).
• These seconds-long sounds have a big impact because…
  • Our brains process audio twice as fast as visual information.
  • Our reaction time to audio is 30 milliseconds faster than to other stimuli.

Crafting these signatures is part art, part science. When the Mellon Foundation (a nonprofit) was developing theirs, they used a handful of notes from 20th-century composer Florence Price. 

Vanessa Corrêa, Mellon’s chief communications officer, said they tested several options and found the final product’s “cadence of the melody, the way it ends on an up note [were] very deliberate choices to feel optimistic and forward-looking.”

In other words, the bop needs to communicate the entire vibe of the brand.