Bunnings has topped the SCA/Veritonic Audio Logo Index 2021 for the second consecutive year, while food delivery service Menulog made its debut in the top 10 audio logos with the key to its success using melody in combination with its brand name.
The index is a one-of-its-kind study into audio branding effectiveness and best practice in Australia.
The top 10 performing audio logo brands were:
- Bunnings 6. BCF
- Toyota 7. Menulog
- Harvey Norman 8. Schmackos
- VB 9. Myer
- Chemist Warehouse 10. McDonald’s.
According to the study, audio logos with a melody had a 17% higher memorability and association than those without, and there are three factors that contribute to a successful audio brand:
- Melody – Using a distinctive collection of notes encodes a brand into consumers’ memories easily and effortlessly
- Including the brand name – Mentioning the brand as part of an audio logo helps ‘bake the brand in’ to audio assets, offering higher successful attribution. If the brand name can be sung, not just spoken, results are generally even higher
- Frequency – Frequency is an important part of encoding an audio logo into memory. Adding a brand’s audio logo to every asset that can carry it helps to keep that brand top of mind, and in the case of audio logos, it happens effortlessly – even in low involvement scenarios
Menulog made its debut on the top 10 list, despite only launching its sonic logo this year, and has successfully combined melody, using its brand name and frequency. Its recall sits at 96 and likeability at 71, which demonstrates that repetition and familiarity help boost likeability.
Commenting on its rapid rise to audio branding success, Menulog Marketing Director, Simon Cheng, says, “We’re really proud to be included in the top 10 most recalled audio brands in Australia, alongside brands that have had much longer tenure in market. ‘Did Somebody Say Menulog’ has been hugely successful in driving top of mind awareness and so again we’re incredibly proud to see 96% recall as a new entrant to the top 10.
“Creating distinctive assets has been a core part of our branding strategy since we launched ‘Did Somebody Say Menulog’; not only are visual assets key to this platform but sonic assets are equally as important for our brand. This inclusion is testament to the impact of that strategy.”
Long established brands, such as Toyota and VB, have successfully created word free logos.
Toyota’s position as the second highest-scoring brand on the Index, and a 4% lift in its overall score, is due to using both strong melody and longevity – the automotive brand has been using the same music for almost 40 years.
Veritonic and SCA collected data on the 36 top audio logos in Australia that were analysed using Veritonic’s machine learning and listening algorithms to identify trends, strengths, and weaknesses with 500 respondents for each logo test. Logos were ranked on a series of attributes such as brand recall and feelings such as happiness.
Bunnings and Toyota scored top results for authenticity, trustworthiness, familiarity, and high brand recall.
The biggest improvers in 2021 were Toyota, Bunnings, Harvey Norman, Myer, SPC and Woolworths.
Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) was the top performing category, driven by brands such as Menulog and McDonald’s, followed by the retail, FMCG and tech/telco categories.
Commenting on the report, SCA National Head of Creativity – The Studio, Matt Dickson, says, “Sonic brand cues offer unique benefits to brands across almost every media platform – especially audio due to its portability and ubiquity. It’s really encouraging to see some of Australia’s biggest brands harness the benefits of audio branding, and also to see new players enter the field.”
Veritonic CEO, Scott Simonelli, says, “Since we began publishing the Audio Logo Index series, brands have increased their investment in sonic branding massively. I’m encouraged by the number of new brands entering the space and backing their investments with data. Hopefully Australian brands that have yet to buy-in understand and leverage this report as proof that a proper sonic identity can be transformative for brand perception, memorability, and consideration.”
Creator of the Bunnings original jingle, Malcolm from Likeable Creative, says, “I’m thrilled that a jingle I created with Trevor Hilton in the nineties is still even being used 25 years later, let alone topping the charts for sonic branding!”
SCA’s audio logo offering BRANDSOUND has created effective audio brand assets for some of Australia’s biggest brands including SPC, Cenovis and Luna Park.