Does Your Brand Pass The Sonic Smash Test?

ErikWalterThompson
May 21
2 min read

If you removed your logo, would people still know who you are? If your prospect looked down at their phone or walked into the kitchen for a nacho refill during your TV ad would your sound still build and/or refresh your brand memory structures?

If you smashed your visual brand assets, would your brand still exist?

The Original Smash Test

In 1915 a designer at the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana was given the brief to create "a bottle so distinct that it could be recognized by touch in the dark or when lying broken on the ground."

The contoured, cocoa plant-inspired design he created became Coca-Cola’s most distinctive brand asset and is a living testament to the power of sensory branding. It was also the birth of the smash test: if you remove your logo, can people still recognize your brand?

Pinup girl being offered a bottle without a label. It's clear from the shape of the bottle that it's a coke.

Beyond The Logo

A brand is so much more than a logo, fonts, & color palette; however, these are the elements that most often take center stage in brand identity efforts. Limiting your brand to the visual is limiting your ability to resonate with your prospect. People make sense of the world through sight, touch, smell, and, of course, sound: the mother sense.

The most salient brands in the world aim to develop distinctive brand assets that engage as many sensory experiences as possible. While smell, taste, and touch aren’t always feasible options, sound is prevalent (or easily integrated) throughout the consumer journey. However, many brands are paying a sonic opportunity cost by neglecting to extend their brand messaging beyond the visual.

Martin Lindstrom's Brand Sense is a great read if you're looking for a deep dive into sensory branding.

The Sonic Smash Test

A brand makes many sounds, but how many brands are recognizable if we smashed their visuals?

Every Mac User has this sound burned into their brain.

Harley embraces the sound of the hog as a key brand asset.

Functional + brand building: The sonic logo serves as sound calibration. If it sounds quiet, you know to turn up the volume before you binge.

Without an internal combustion engine, BMW is taking charge of the sound of their electric vehicles, and this sound will be embedded in every owner's long-term memory.

Enjoy ASMR. The sweet sound of refreshment.

The OG Disney logo is one of the most recognizable sonic brand assets. The new Disney+ sonic logo alludes to this but isn't nearly as distinctive.

How else can you smash your brand?

Smash your Scent

Bentley, Porsche, & Mustang Signature Scents

Smash your Shape

Smash your Naming

Smash your icons (and earcons!)

Don't Forget Earcons!

Smash your Character

Smash your Color

Smash your Service

Brands stay top-of-mind by building and refreshing memory structures with distinctive brand assets. These brand assets should go beyond the visual and extend into as many sensory experiences as possible. Sound is already baked-in to many consumer touchpoints, but is rarely leveraged to it's full potential. Go on now and get loud!