Enduring & recognisable: Shailja Joshi calls 7UP’s sonic identity a brand’s strategic weapon

New Delhi: Brand recall is getting more complex with each passing campaign. In today's cluttered consumer landscape, it is not just about being seen anymore. It is also about being heard. 

Seems like brands are now waking up to the idea that visibility alone doesn’t cut it. The best recall taps into multiple senses. Because the more senses a brand engages, the deeper it sits in consumer memory. 

7UP, a brand under PepsiCo India, has flipped a page in the sensory playbook and has taken it to heart. And ears. The refreshment drink, along with being visible, is trying to be heard. Not with another jingle but with what it calls a “sonic identity.” This identity comprises catchy notes meant to represent the feeling of opening up a 7UP on a hot day. 

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In an exclusive conversation with BestMediaInfo.com, Shailja Joshi, Category Lead - Cola & Flavours, PepsiCo India, broke down how the brand built its sonic identity. 

Refreshment beyond taste

At the heart of this sonic experiment was a simple question: What does refreshment sound like? Joshi explained that it was about creating a sensory signature beyond visual and taste. “For 7UP, refreshment is more than a taste - it is a feeling,” Joshi said. 

Kicking off in Bengaluru, the MOGO will roll out across in‑store coolers in retail spaces. This marks a unique moment where a brand has brought its sonic identity to life right at the point of sale, creating a fresh, bold way to connect with people.

Partnering with sonic branding agency BrandMusiq, 7UP crafted a 7-note MOGO - short for Musical Logo. This audio bite, as Joshi described, distilled “the crisp, crack of 7UP, the fizz, and the cooling rush” into sound. 

BrandMusiq’s SoniqScan, an AI‑based tool that maps musical elements to human emotions, the sound captures the very feeling of refreshment. But this wasn’t just built in a studio. It evolved through an iterative, consumer‑first process, with multiple moments of testing and refining until it felt right for the 7UP® consumers.

Referring to the MOGO, Joshi called it “crisp, catchy, and distinctive,” reflecting the brand’s “optimism, vibrancy, and youthful energy.” Whether that is what consumers will hear when the MOGO plays at a retail cooler or a quick commerce app remains to be seen. 

Not the first musical rodeo

This is not the first time 7UP has flirted with music. The 7UP ‘Spice It’ playlist, launched earlier this year, was an experiment in blending music with the brand’s signature refreshment, especially when paired with spicy food. 

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The overwhelming positive response validated our belief that audio can play a deeper role in driving brand salience,” Joshi reflected. The playlist may have been a cultural side note, but it gave PepsiCo the confidence to invest in something longer-lasting. 

“The sonic identity you hear today builds on that foundation and takes it a step further, embedding sound into the brand’s DNA,” she added. Basically, the playlist was the brand’s warm-up act, and the MOGO, the headliner. 

Not just a jingle

With more brands embracing multi-sensory branding, it was fair to ask: What makes 7UP’s sonic identity anything more than a fleeting jingle? 

Joshi made a clear distinction. Explaining her stance, she said, “A strong sonic identity is a strategic asset. Unlike a one-off jingle, a sonic logo is designed to be enduring, adaptable, and recognisable across touchpoints.” In her view, where the brand appears is secondary to how it is remembered. “Differentiation today comes from how you’re remembered, not just where you’re placed,” she told BestMediaInfo.com

And while jingles often fade with time, sonic logos aim to do what visual logos have done for decades - create an instant mental connection, Joshi summarised. 

The KPI challenge

One of the trickiest parts of a sonic identity is proving that it actually works. And rightly so, since there are no click-through rates or impressions here.

Joshi stated that PepsiCo looks at a mix of qualitative and contextual metrics. “We look at a mix of brand recall studies and emotional attribution scores to how well the MOGO performs across environments like retail, digital, and in-store,” she explained.

The big test? Instant recognisability. “Does a consumer hear the sound and immediately think of 7UP?” Joshi asked. Over time, the brand will also track whether this creates an uplift in “brand love” and deeper affinity, subjective but essential markers in an attention-starved market.

The big picture

On being asked if this sonic leap was unique to 7UP or the start of something bigger for PepsiCo’s India portfolio, Joshi hinted at broader ambitions. “7UP’s sonic launch marks more than just a brand milestone as it reflects how we’re evolving with culture. Today, brands don’t just need to be seen; they need to be felt, heard, and remembered,” she said. 

She added, “Each brand in our portfolio has a unique voice, but they all share a common goal of staying culturally resonant and future-forward.” For now, though, 7UP’s MOGO is the testing ground. And Joshi believes it has what it takes to stick. “The response to this launch shows us that sonic identity isn’t just a creative layer, it can become a distinctive, lasting imprint in how consumers experience and remember our brands,” she said. 

Do consumers care?

Of course, the big question remains: will consumers care? Or will the MOGO join the graveyard of brand sounds no one really remembers? There’s precedent for both outcomes. Nokia’s ringtone became iconic; other brands' audio logos, not so much.

But 7UP seems to be banking on the idea that in a cluttered, hyper-visual world, your ears might just be the next battleground for recall. Whether that crack-fizz-rush sound becomes the refreshment anthem for a new generation is something only time (and a few brand recall studies) will tell.

For now, though, the next time you reach into a cooler or scroll through your delivery app, listen closely.