At Barking Owl, Sonic Branding Meets Original Composition
As any advertiser will tell you, music and sound is an unstoppable creative force, with the majority of consumers (60%) believing “music used in marketing is more memorable than visuals.” Sound has the power to hijack our hippocampus and stop us in our tracks.
Think about it: almost everyone you know is familiar with the McDonald’s’ ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ jingle, ‘The Intel Bong’ five‑note mnemonic is one of the most recognisable brand sounds in the world, and Mastercard’s sonic strategy instils trust in customers. And, according to research by Kantar, brands investing in sonic branding “achieve 76% higher brand power and 138% higher perceptions of advertising strength.”
Barking Owl, the world’s leading provider of music and sound to Fortune 500 and blue-chip brands, is a key player in the growing evolution of sound in branding. Headquartered in LA, with a second office in New York, and recently expanding into the Chicago market, the music and audio company is leading a shift in how sound is used. From being a short-term ad tool to a long-term brand signature, the company believes original music and authentic sound design can deepen brand identity.
Built by composers, sound designers and strategists who treat audio as a primary storytelling tool, the company’s work with global brands such as KitchenAid, MGA Entertainment, and most recently, the Kyiv Marathon, illustrates its ability to create cohesive, ownable sound ecosystems that brands can use across platforms, touchpoints, and time. Here, LBB’s April Summers speaks to the team behind the award-winning work.
From Kyiv to the World
Barking Owl is well known for delivering creative, emotionally-resonant music and sound. and there are plenty of projects that demonstrate the company’s prowess in the field. But when I catch up with chief executive officer Kirkland Alexander Lynch, he is keen to talk about its recent research-backed work with the Kyiv Marathon. Projects like this, he says, present the team with the opportunity to “change the world” and establish long-lasting impact.
This particular opportunity came about after the team at Ukrainian-based Gres Todorchuk met Barking Owl managing director Carol Dunn at Cannes. The agency informed Carol that one of its clients, Nova Post, was investing in the 2025 Kyiv Marathon. Apparently, the organisation had hopes to not only rename it the ‘Nova Post Free-Barrier Marathon’, but to also make it accessible to wounded veterans, by replacing the starter pistol with a musical cue.
“The impetus was that not only is the marathon occurring in a war torn country, it also involves individuals with PTSD,” explains Kirkland. “For this reason, starting the race in the usual way (with a starter pistol) was not the best idea. So, the Gres Todorchuk team had the brilliant idea of crafting a new sound, bringing us in to handle the sound design.”
Passing the creative baton to lead sound designer, Gus Koven, Barking Owl began exploring a range of emotional and sonic references which would guide the creative process. “I really wanted the sound to be celebratory,” Gus says. “With each iteration, I kept asking myself if this was something I’d be excited to hear in the crowd at the start of a race. I kept thinking about things we hear in celebratory moments: bells, horns, and power chord vibes.”
Working with Ukrainian artists, Gus incorporated a traditional Ukrainian instrument called the trembita into the marathon’s new sonic identity, ‘Start Without a Shot’.
This high-profile, trauma-informed sound design saw Gus digest a lot of new information – mostly research papers – which helped define project limitations and advise what not to do. “We wanted to create something that felt somewhat more intuitive. Nothing overly shrill, nothing with a hard attack – just keeping things feeling organic, real, concrete, and celebratory.
“Having a deep bass component as the root of the sound was important. Having some kind of arpeggiating or shimmering sound was important too. We came up with five versions of the start sound we really liked, and then put those through testing.”
To make sure the final deliverable caused the least amount of distress, the team tested the sound on real veterans, runners, and those with PTSD, as well as consulted professionals associated with the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in Ukraine and Harvard Medical School in the US.
Kirkland reflects on how thrilled the team were to have worked on such a meaningful project and how, upon receiving the brief, they felt compelled to craft an adaptable, lasting solution. “This was something that affected more individuals than we initially realised, and in more ways than one, so we were glad to be doing something about it,” he says. “We thought, since the 2028 Olympics are going to be in the same city as our headquarters, why don’t we set the bar by aiming to eliminate the use of starter pistols, cannons, airhorns, and other triggering sounds in sporting events altogether, globally?”
What began as an initial request for a new sonic identity to use at the Ukrainian event has naturally evolved into a bigger moral resolve, and become the catalyst for Barking Owl’s wider ‘Start Without a Shot’ initiative. Now dedicated to pushing the mission forward and eliminating the use of starter pistols altogether, the team hopes to make intentional sound design a norm in public events and global culture.
KitchenAid Gets the R’n’B Treatment
With over 30 Super Bowl ads and high-profile campaigns under its belt – Beyoncé for Levi’s, Apple, SKIMS etc. – the company has most recently been focusing on developing a flexible, branded sonic suite for American home appliance brand, KitchenAid.
Tasked with reinforcing the brand’s voice in stores, digital ads, and product experience, its work includes everything from campaign music to UX/UI sounds, all of which is centred around long-term identity over short-term trendiness.
Expertly translating KitchenAid’s brand identity into music, it has been a deeply collaborative process. The most notable example from this partnership is the brand’s popular North American campaign, ‘Love the Racks’, an R’n’B-esque love song inspired by real five-star reviews.
The story, from the creative spark to the final mix, was shaped by many hands. “The WoW Studios team came to us with a powerful vision – one rooted in the real, passionate love people have for their KitchenAid products, with real reviews being the epitome of that love. Our role was to act as a sonic vessel for that emotion, and we’re proud to have brought it to life.”
Working closely with WoW’s creative leads and the KitchenAid brand team, Barking Owl built a musical foundation that Kirkland describes as “sincere, playful, and unapologetically bold”.
“The original composition needed to live comfortably across a variety of environments: in your kitchen via a commercial, on your phone as digital content, and even in-store. What better way to do that than make it a real song?!” says the CEO. “It had to be catchy enough to stand alone, but also emotionally honest. We leaned into pop ballad structure, and once Sam Nelson Harris, the lead singer for X Ambassadors, was brought in, his voice and additional lyricism elevated the track to an entirely new level.”
Johanna Cranitch, creative director, tells me why the decision to replicate the golden era of R’n’B felt like the right genre to tell this brand story through music. “In the '90s and early 2000s, love songs were big, bold, and unapologetically emotional,” she points out. “Those quintessential ballads had a way of making even the simplest feelings feel epic, and we wanted to tap into that same energy to celebrate something as surprisingly lovable as the KitchenAid dishwasher. The idea was to take that nostalgic, over-the-top passion from classic R’n’B love songs and marry it with the genuine excitement people have for the product. We leaned into a style of music that’s all about deep appreciation (usually for a person) and turned it toward design details people don’t usually expect to fall for.”
In doing so, Barking Owl managed to elevate the conversation around dishwashers in a playful but heartfelt way, transforming functionality into romance, and making something as practical as a dishwasher rack feel worthy of a slow jam.
“I still sing ‘Love the Racks’ in my head about twice a day!” Kirkland admits.
Toy Anthems That Stick Like Glitter
Another brand to benefit from Barking Owl’s sonic branding is MGA Entertainment. As a manufacturer of children's toys, this collaboration required the team to create a consistent experience across generations of young audiences… and their guardians.
Bringing in executive producer Ashley Benton, Johanna selected composers with their ear to the ground, or “people who really understand what’s happening in today’s music culture, both stylistically and sonically.”
Putting their heads together, they agreed that the most effective way to build a musical vocabulary for a diverse, fast-moving portfolio of toys was to channel an unfiltered, childlike approach, says Johanna. “Kids engage with music in such a pure way. They’re the ultimate tastemakers because they don’t overthink it. If it sounds cool and makes them feel something, they like it. It’s that simple, and honestly, that’s how music should be. We leaned into that energy and aimed to create something that resonates with both kids and adults, without overcomplicating it.”
Integrating with brand strategy, not just ad execution, Barking Owl delivered two hugely popular brand anthems, ‘Dissmas’ and ‘EGG$$$$$’. Both songs centre around an infectious hook which resonates with today’s audience, while still feeling timeless and undeniably fun. “As a mother myself, I know firsthand that the most powerful thing you can create is a catchy hook – something that grabs attention immediately and sticks,” says Johanna, smiling. “That was our main focus.
“Of course, music is always moving, and there’s no guaranteed formula for catching the exact wave. But what we do know is that a great song always rises above. A truly great song has staying power; it transcends trends. And in this case, we believe that’s exactly what we created.”
Pioneering the New Sound of Brand Loyalty
Nothing cuts through the noise like sound and sight combined. The most effective brands are connecting with audiences across platforms, senses, and attention spans. From catchy R’n’B ballads to emotionally conscious campaigns, the future of brand recognition will be audio-visual – and Barking Owl is helping lead that transition.
“Brands’ sonic identities must not only be recognisable, but adaptive, context-aware, and emotionally resonant,” says Kirkland. “We believe sonic branding will evolve from mnemonics (also called audio logos) into dynamic, responsive ecosystems, where audio can flex in tone, tempo, or instrumentation based on environment, audience, or data. We see our role as both creative partner and strategic architect in that evolution. We believe the best branding, sonic or otherwise, starts with deep listening, thoughtful collaboration, and a commitment to creativity.”
Proving that, when done right, sonic branding can be emotional, scalable, and unforgettable, Barking Owl’s cohort of in-house composers and creatives in LA, New York, and Chicago don’t just make music for ads, they create soundtracks for how brands will be remembered.
