Key Takeaways
- TikTok faced a challenge attributing content on other platforms, leading to the development of a sonic logo.
- Massive Music designed the 'boom bling' logo through thousands of iterations, integrating a unique E major seventh chord.
- A covert 'Trojan horse' strategy using 'sonic stickers' introduced TikTok's new sound identity before its official launch.
- The TikTok sonic logo achieved over 50% user recognition within three months, a significantly rapid pace.
Deep Dive
- Planet Money's Kenny Malone and Dallas Taylor play a game identifying voices in viral videos, including Shredder and Uncle Phil.
- A Reddit trend features a creator named Shay judging dishes in a 'potluck courtroom,' often involving historical or pirate-themed punishments.
- TikTok, with over 700 million users in 2020, required a sonic identity to attribute content and attract users after viral content spread to other platforms.
- Massive Music, already consulting with TikTok, engaged in a six-month pitch process to create the platform's audio logo.
- The design team aimed for a joyful, inviting, welcoming, and safe sound that could broaden appeal beyond Gen Z.
- Early development focused on the onomatopoeia of 'TikTok' and a two-beat structure, experimenting with everyday sounds and vocalizations.
- Concepts included integrating user-generated content like a 'dog bark' and an 'ever-evolving' logo, which were later abandoned for consistency.
- The team settled on an 808 kick drum for the 'tick' element, as a nod to hip-hop and its role as a musical divider.
- After thousands of iterations, the final design combined a strong 808 sub-bass for the 'tick' with a bright, ascending chord for the 'talk'.
- The ascending 'talk' chord was crafted using a layered sign wave and marimba timbre, chosen for its warmth and ability to cut through other sounds.
- The specific chord selected was E major seventh, incorporating an 'unusual' seventh note that provides a unique flavor common in jazz, R&B, and hip-hop.
- Although initially facing pushback, consumer testing demonstrated E major 7 was more appealing and recallable than E major, ultimately convincing stakeholders to age up the brand sound.
- The final 'boom bling' logo was created after extensive iteration and research, with an accidental dog bark sound intentionally left in for character.
- TikTok implemented a broader sonic strategy involving covert tactics to introduce new branded sounds.
- Massive Music created a 'blueprint song' containing TikTok's new sound identity, which was then remixed into short 'sonic stickers' for creators.
- These sonic stickers were released under the alias 'Sonic Collective' as a 'Trojan horse' to introduce users to TikTok's new sounds before the official brand launch.
- Following the official brand launch, the 'sonic stickers' became recognized as official TikTok sounds, contributing to over 30,000 pieces of content.
- The 'boom bling' logo is strategically embedded in downloaded and reposted videos across other platforms, effectively creating a mini-TikTok within competitors' apps.
- Three months post-launch, studies revealed over 50% spontaneous recognition of TikTok's sound logo among users, a feat that typically takes years for brands to achieve.
- Instagram released its own sonic ID approximately two years after TikTok's, appearing at the end of downloaded reels.