This podcast episode originally appeared in Marketplace, produced by Lizzie O’Leary and Eliza Mills. It features Connor Moore, who is a musician who does sound design for brands — he’s worked with Amazon, Paypal and Uber Rush — and joined Marketplace Weekend to talk about the power of sonic branding…

Sonic branding is like a billboard for your ears. Like when the stranger next to you on an airplane powers up a laptop, and by the start up noise, somehow, your brain knows it’s running Windows. Or when a phone rings, and you recognize the default Apple ringtone. The sounds a phone makes can be as important as the look when it comes to selling power.

Brands hope you associate positive things with their sonic ID — HBO wants you to remember its programming when it plays its feature presentation score before a new original movie. And phone companies strive to make un-annoying (but still recognizable) ringtones that will draw the right kind of attention.

Connor Moore is a musician who does sound design for brands — he’s worked with Amazon, Paypal and Uber Rush — and joined Marketplace Weekend to talk about the power of sonic branding.

To listen to the full interview, tune in using the audio player above.

Follow Lizzie O’Leary at @lizzieohreally.