Answer: The balance between familiarity and novelty
Berlyne’s ‘inverted-U hypothesis’
In psychology, Berlyne’s ‘inverted-U hypothesis’ describes how people tend to dislike things that are over familiar (predictable, boring) or too novel (too new, challenging).
The highest engagement sits somewhere in the middle – where something feels recognisable… yet still fresh.
Virtually all pop music aims to be in this sweet spot. I bet most of the music you love or resonates with you is also there. All commercial song-writers and producers try to end up here.
A sonic identity is no different. Sonic branding works best when it sounds recognisable enough to be processed implicitly, yet novel enough to remain distinctive.
Push too far either way and you lose impact – either through invisibility or irritation. This can be helpful to conceptualise where your brand is on this scale.
However, unlike a pop record, most brands need their sonic identity to stick around, be relevant. And work hard… Over time.
Add a Time Dimension
Over time, a sonic identity may become repetitive. It can slowly slip to the left… Into familiarity.
We’ve seen, if you evolve and progress your sonic branding over time, that familiarity / novelty is continually being re-freshed. You’re not only planting a good memory, you’re giving it roots, feeding and keeping it alive. And relevant!
A-MNEMONIC apply the same principle for really effective sonic branding.
This research reinforces something we’ve seen in practice for years: a sonic identity works best when it’s evolving. Not a single repeated sting, but a system or variations that share a recognisable musical DNA while evolving over time and context.
This implicit response, combined with a smart interplay of familiarity and novelty, over time is where the real long-term power of sonic branding seems to lie.
