Sound branding and brand sounds: Traits, types and origins

This chapter provides a general introduction to sound branding by specifying what it is (not) and by exemplifying some of the most significant traits, types and origins of sound in the context of branding. The chapter identifies the brand sound as characterized by four traits: distinctiveness, connectivity, spread and continuity. Furthermore, based on a tripartite distinction of types of sound and a distinction between the origin of sounds from the perspective of the branded entity, the chapter presents a typology of six types of brand sound. Two of the most prevalent and significant types of brand sounds are additionally exemplified by the pss-sound of Coca-Cola and the sonic logo for McDonald’s. Coca-Cola’s use of the bottle opening pss-sound exemplifies how an object sound can function as a so-called intrinsic brand sound, and McDonald’s use of the sonic logo during the i’m lovin it campaign exemplifies how music can function as a so-called extrinsic brand sound.