It’s possible there’s one rumbling around your brain right now. Audio jingles are, without doubt, as adhesive as brand slogans and logos – from T-Mobile to State Farm. Now, Veritonic, the marketing analytics platform for commercial music, has named its 10 most effective brand jingles, which all shout radio loud and proud.
“For some brands, an audio logo is just as important as a visual one,” offers Business Insider in a story about the survey. “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.”
For its results, Veritonic surveyed 2,600-plus panelists in Oct. 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 and were then contacted 48 hours later to test recall of audio logos. The brands ranking combines unaided recall, plus emotion categories. And the Business Week winners are (with explanations from Veritonic):
10. T-Mobile. Its chimes scored well for evoking happy and excited emotions. And the mark is distinctive for people who have heard it before — giving it a high engagement score
9. State Farm. The insurer’s beepy audio logo scored well for happy, excited and simple.
8. Folgers. “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 happy, reputable, approachable and authentic.
7. Chevy. The automaker’s audio mark is unusual because it sometimes plays at the start of an ad rather than the end. It is regarded as authentic, confident, approachable, trustworthy and reputable.
6. McDonald’s. “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 for excited and for happy.
5. Hot Pockets. 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 and excited categories.
4. Green Giant. “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 and authentic; however, the jingle only scored around average on excited (76) and lagged behind the other top scorers in terms of engagement.
3. Intel. 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 among listeners. It was also near the top of the pile on excited and in the overall engagement metrics.
2. Farmer’s Insurance. “We are Farmers! Bum ba dum bum bum bum bum.” The Farmer’s Insurance audio mark is a relative newcomer in the Business Week/Veritonic top 10, as far as on-air promotion is concerned. It’s a top performer in several of the emotion scores including trustworthiness and uniqueness and was on top on innovative and empowering.
1. Nationwide. The company’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 the study. The audio logo demonstrably leads the pack when it comes to unaided recall and was one of the top performers for engagement. It also scored big on happy, excited and simple.