For some brands, an audio logo is just as important as a visual one.
Close your eyes, and you’ll know it’s an Intel ad from its famous chimes. “I’m Lovin’ It” is synonymous with McDonald’s. And we all know what the “Green Giant” sings.
But which brands have the best-performing sound marks?
Scroll down to find which brand jingles stand out from the rest amongst consumers in the US.
Methodology
Veritonic, a marketing analytics platform for commercial music, surveyed more than 2,600 panelists in October 2016 and asked them to listen to audio logos selected from Interbrand's Best Global Brands ranking, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the S&P.
Panelists were asked to record their emotions as the logos played and were asked about the feelings the audio evoked. They were then contacted 48 hours later to test recall of audio logos. Panelists' emotions and engagement were also tracked using Veritonic's patent-pending EchoTime technology.
Each brand's overall 1-100 score in the ranking combines unaided recall, plus emotion categories including: Excited, happy, approachable, authentic, confident, empowering, innovative, likable, reputable, simple, trustworthy, and unique.
10. T-Mobile. Overall score: 77.4. Unaided recall: 82
T-Mobile's chimes scored well for evoking happy and excited emotions.
It doesn't do so well on the unaided recall front, but the mark is distinctive for people who have heard it before - giving it a high engagement score.
9. Statefarm. Overall score: 78.9. Unaided recall: 84
The insurer's beepy audio logo places scored well for "happy" (84), "excited" (74) and "simple" (72).
It placed in ninth place for unaided recall, but didn't score well on the engagement metric.
8. Folgers. Overall score: 79.5. Unaided recall: 86
The Folgers jingle - "The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup" - is more than 30-years-old, having first launched in 1984.
It scored well for emotions including "happy" (82), "reputable" (78), "approachable" (78), and "authentic" (78) - all the types of feelings a coffee company would be hoping to evoke from listeners.
Folgers was tied in third position for unaided recall.
7. Chevy. Overall score: 79.5. Unaided recall: 88
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bllPdzINn4?list=RDIocCC1-jeTY
Chevy's whistled audio mark is unusual as, unlike many other brands, it sometimes plays at the start of an ad rather than the end (although it plays at the end of the video above).
The logo scores well in the "authentic" (78), "confident" (78), "approachable" (76), "trustworthy" (76) and "reputable" categories.
However, it underperformed in the "excited" attribute, scoring just 68.
6. McDonald's. Overall score: 79.6. Unaided recall: 85
"I'm Lovin' It" launched globally in 2003, sung by Justin Timberlake, and it has been McDonald's ad jingle ever since.
The logo scores 84 for "excited" and "82" for happy.
It tied third for unaided recall.
5. Hot Pockets. Overall score: 80.5. Unaided recall: 85
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yDjzKI4ZKU
Famous for the memorable microwave "ding," the sung Hot Pockets audio mark scored well for unaided recall.
It was also a top performer in the "happy" (86) and "excited" (76) categories.
4. Green Giant. Overall score: 80.8. Unaided recall: 86
"Ho, ho, ho, Green Giant" has been in-market since the 1960s, giving the logo a strong unaided recall score.
It scored well for "happy" (86) and "authentic" (78), however, the jingle only scored around average on "excited" (76) and lagged behind the other top scorers in terms of engagement.
3. Intel. Overall score: 82.7. Unaided recall: 88
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1ShNsafVTI
Probably the most famous audio logo of the bunch, the Intel chimes are internationally recognized, earning them an unaided recall score of 88.
Intel ties first for evoking a feeling of "innovation" (70) amongst listeners.
It was also near the top of the pile on "excited" (80) and in the overall engagement metrics.
2. Farmer's Insurance. Overall score: 83.2. Unaided recall: 88
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua3bXFz0VHY
"We are Farmers! Bum ba dum bum bum bum bum."
The Farmer's Insurance audio mark is a relative newcomer in this top 10, as far as on-air promotion is concerned.
It's a top performer in several of the emotion scores including "trustworthiness" (74), "uniqueness" (74) and was joint top on "innovative" (70) and "empowering" (74).
1. Nationwide. Overall score: 87.2. Unaided recall: 92
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euy_Zs5UDOY
Nationwide's "Nationwide is on your side" jingle has been on air for more than 50 years and is still as relevant today as it ever was, according to this study.
The audio logo demonstrably leads the pack when it comes to unaided recall and was in the top decile of performers for engagement. It also scored big on "happy" (84), "excited" (76), and "simple" (74).
"The speed and pattern of the responses by panelists to the audio logo demonstrates how deeply planted the audio logo has become in panelists' psyches," Veritonic writes in the report.