Sonic and motion identity: what it is and when a brand needs sound and motion

What is sonic and motion identity?

A sonic and motion identity is the set of owned sounds and movement principles that make a brand recognisable when it is heard or seen moving. A brand needs one when more of its encounters happen on screens and through speakers, where a still logo does too little.

Sonic identity is what the brand sounds like: an audio logo, a palette of sounds and music, interface sounds and, for some brands, a voice. Motion identity is how the brand moves: timing, rhythm, transitions, how the logo enters and leaves, how type and images behave in a frame. Both sit beside colour, type and form as distinctive brand assets that trigger memory.

Researchers define sonic branding as "a strategic effort undertaken by brands to enhance the way customers experience the brand across multiple touchpoints" (Kemp et al., European Journal of Marketing, 2026). The same logic holds for motion. A single signature is only one part of it.

Why do sound and motion matter for a brand?

Sound and motion matter because they work where a logo is too small or absent. A sound needs no screen space. Movement catches the eye before anyone reads a word.

The evidence for sound is growing but still thin. In six experiments, Kemp and colleagues found that sonic brands can evoke positive emotions, which foster social engagement and trust (European Journal of Marketing, 2026). The same authors note that there is little contemporary academic research on sonic branding.

Industry data points the same way. A YouGov survey found that 20 per cent of young adults were more inclined to buy from a brand with a sonic identity. One in three felt more positive towards brands with a distinctive sonic identity (YouGov, McCullough, 2023, cited in Spence, Psychology & Marketing, 2024). An analysis of 113 podcast and radio ads by Veritonic and Audacy linked sonic branding to 14 per cent higher ad recall in podcasts and 17 per cent in radio (Inside Radio, 2023). Audacy sells audio advertising, so read that study as a signal rather than neutral proof.

Motion has no comparable body of published brand research. The argument for it is the one that applies to any distinctive asset: consistent behaviour, repeated often, becomes something people recognise.

How does a sonic and motion identity work in practice?

It works as a system of rules and parts that teams apply in every channel. The audio logo and the logo animation are the visible tips, and beneath them sit principles for tempo, tone, easing and when to stay silent.

McDonald's shows how a fixed cue and free expression work together. When "i'm lovin' it" launched in September 2003, the five-note signature "ba da ba pa pa" launched with it. The aim was to register the brand in words, in the golden arches and in sound at once. The campaigns that followed used many music genres and styles, while the five notes stayed. Larry Light, McDonald's global CMO at the time, wrote 17 years later that the combination of sound, graphic and words had endured (Branding Strategy Insider, 2020).

Where the system shows up depends on where the brand meets people:

• Packaging. The pack is still, but it also appears in social video, on product pages and as an e-commerce thumbnail. Motion rules decide how it is revealed, turned and shown.

• Retail screens. In-store screens usually play without sound, so motion carries the brand alone and must read in seconds and at a distance.

• Social. Video is often watched with the sound off. The identity needs a silent version that still reads, and a sonic cue for people who listen.

• Product UI. Loading states, confirmations and notifications are sound and motion people meet daily, usually for a second or less.

The practical home for these rules is the brand design system, with motion design brand guidelines and a sound library beside colour and type. In our work with Nordic Nest, the job was to transform Designonline.com from a generic online shopping platform into a premium brand experience. In briefs like that, how a site responds and moves is part of what reads as premium.

Conclusion: Motion is how a brand behaves, not how its logo spins.

What do people get wrong about sonic branding and motion identity?

The most common mistake is to treat sonic or motion identity as one asset, when each is a system. An audio logo is to sonic identity what a logo is to visual identity.

Even that one part starts with a feeling rather than a sound. Netflix's "ta-dum", in use since 2015, had to tell a story in three seconds or less and say entertainment rather than software. Todd Yellin, Netflix's VP of Product, briefed the sound designer with words such as tension, release and quirky, and cared less about what it sounded like than how it made people feel. The work took a year (Mashable, 2020).

Four other misunderstandings are common:

• Borrowed music is the identity. A licensed track sets a mood, but it belongs to the artist and to anyone else who licenses it.

• Motion means animating the logo. The logo is one moment. The identity lives in how everything moves: type, images, transitions, interface.

• It needs a TV budget. Most brands now produce video, audio and interfaces every week. Without rules, each team improvises.

• It can be added at the end. Sound and motion should be built from the brand platform, at the same time as the rest of the identity.

Conclusion: A sound you license is someone else's memory.

When does a brand need a sonic or motion identity?

A brand needs a sonic or motion identity when people meet it on screens or in audio often enough to learn a cue. If the brand still lives mostly in print and on the shelf, other assets come first.

At IW Agency, we think the decision comes down to three things: screens, speakers and frequency.

1. Screens. Video, social, retail screens and product interfaces all put a brand in motion. If that is where yours lives, it already moves, and someone should decide how.

2. Speakers. Is the brand heard in podcasts, radio, events, devices or notifications? Then it already has a sound, whether anyone chose it or not.

3. Frequency. Do people meet the brand often enough to learn a cue? A sound or movement has to come back many times before people link it to the brand.

Two yeses usually justify the investment. Three make it urgent.

Frequency only pays if the cue is your own. Hemglass, the Swedish ice cream van company, first announced its vans with a simple bell. It sounded so much like a lorry's reversing alarm that children ran towards reversing lorries. Hemglass had a jingle composed instead, and it is still what people hear when the van arrives. Today the company calls the melody one of the most characteristic things about Hemglass (Hemglass, Vår historia).

We also think the case grows as content becomes easier to generate. When images and copy start to look alike, owned cues beyond the visual stand out more, for the same reason typography gains weight as a distinctive asset. Sound and motion also reach feeling directly, and emotional brands are the ones people choose.

What does this mean for your brand?

• Audit how you already sound and move. Collect films, ads, interface sounds and social posts in one place. The first finding is usually inconsistency.

• Start from the platform. Define what the brand should feel like before anyone chooses a note or an easing curve.

• Design for sound off first. Retail screens and much of social play silently, so motion has to carry the brand alone.

• Own your sound. Build a short audio logo and a sound palette you control, and use licensed music only on top of them.

• Write it into the system. Put sound and motion rules in the design system, with examples, so every team and supplier uses them.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between sonic branding and an audio logo?

Sonic branding is the whole practice of shaping how a brand sounds across touchpoints. An audio logo is one part of it: a short sound signature, like the Intel chime. A full sonic identity also covers music, interface sounds and the rules for using them.

What should motion design brand guidelines include?

They should include motion principles, timing and easing values, logo animation, transitions, and rules for type and images in motion. Examples by channel make the rules usable. Good guidelines also show what not to do.

Can a brand use licensed music instead of a sonic identity?

A brand can use licensed music in individual campaigns. The association it builds is with the song, not the brand, and it ends when the licence does. Use licensed music alongside owned cues.

Should sound and motion be designed together?

Sound and motion should be designed together, because rhythm connects them. A sound and a movement that share tempo and character feel like one brand.

How do you know whether your brand should sound and move?

Look at where people meet the brand today, and how often. If the answers point to screens and speakers, the brand already sounds and moves. The work is to make it sound and move the same way everywhere. To talk it through, write to us at hello@iwagency.com.

Sources

• Just the two of us—getting closer all the time: the role of sonic branding in connecting with consumers — European Journal of Marketing, 2026

• Sonic branding: A narrative review at the intersection of art and science — Psychology & Marketing, 2024

• Study Finds Sonic Branding Boosts Audio Ad Recall By Double Digits — Inside Radio, 2023

• Brand Relevance: The Strategy Behind "i'm lovin' it" — Branding Strategy Insider, 2020

• Here's the story behind Netflix's iconic intro sound — Mashable, 2020

• Vår historia — Hemglass