AutoZone, State Farm Stand Out Among 2023's Best Audio Brands
Sonic logos have become a larger part of advertising in the past year, according to sonic branding agency Amp Sound Branding's just-released Best Audio Brands report. Amp's research found 131 brands with a sonic logo, up from 94 in 2022's report, with 92% of its top 25 audio brands using one, up 17% from last year.
The company's fifth annual BAB, analyzing more than 10,000 data points and 250 of the world's leading brands – taking into account social media monitoring, sonic strategy analysis, and key insights from its newly-launched, AI-fueled tech product, Sonic Hub – highlights those most effective in harnessing the power of audio.
Among Amp's 50 best audio brands are two which also place in Media Monitors' top 20 radio accounts, based on instances for the first half of 202: AutoZone (sixth on both rankings), and State Farm (19th on Media Monitors' ranking, 30th on Amp's). T-Mobile, which shows up at No. 46 on Amp's list, is at No. 71 in Media Monitors. Additionally, looking at Media Monitors' top radio-advertising parent companies for Jan.-Jun., Nissan also places on both lists.
Other radio advertisers using sonic logos which rank among Media Monitors' top 40 accounts, and that also show up in the complete list of Amp’s top 250 audio brands, are McDonald's, Liberty Mutual, Lowe's, Taco Bell, Discover, Panera Bread, and Bounty.
In Amp's five top audio brands, the top two, Mastercard and Shell, remain in first and second from last year, followed by Aviva, Old Spice and Colgate, all new to the top five. The reports notes that “23 out of the top 25 brands have a sonic logo, and the other two have powerful product sounds or a sonic identity.” Old Spice is one of four brands using its sonic logo in 100% of its content, representing a 300% increase from last year. Among the brands that use their sonic logo in 93% or more of their content is Farmers, also a radio advertiser.
Amp's analysis includes 30 brands that have had their sonic logo for close to a year, with the average age of one in its ranking at 6½ years. The oldest belongs to NBC, with the chimes that have been around 90 years, while State Farm's “like a good neighbor” places second with 51 years.
State Farm uses its sonic logo in 92% of all its material, far higher than the average of 47%, while those with a new sonic logo use it in only 24% of content. “By the time a sonic logo is two years old, the usage on average jumps to 41%,” the report says. “This indicates that it can take time to get all stakeholders to embrace a sonic logo and use it consistently. For any sonic logo to be successful, consistency is key, especially at the beginning when consumers need to hear the sonic logo as often as possible to make the connection between the brand and the sonic logo. Building a memorable sonic identity that is well-known is a marathon, not a sprint.”
