How to Create a Memorable Audio Logo ?
As we explained in a previous article, the audio logo acts as an audio signature for the brand. Its interest is therefore to be recognized and memorized by the listeners.
Therefore, you should think about these objectives when you are going to create your audio logo. In this article, you will discover several tips for designing an effective audio signature.
📌 Starting Point : A Study on the Efficiency of Audio Logo
Veritonic, a company specializing in corporate audio-branding analysis, has conducted a new study on the effectiveness of the audio logo, with a panel of 1900 people.
The participants were invited to listen to many jingles and were then interrogated on several aspects : emotions and associated brand criteria (e.g. innovative), and brand memorability. They were then asked 48 hours later to test the memorability of each jingle. At the end, each audio logo was given different scores, which allowed us to establish a ranking.
We had written an article on the 2017 edition of this study, and we note that the 2019 edition confirms several trends, which prove to be rich in insights!
This time, we will more particularly focus on the lessons that this study teaches us to create a memorable and distinctive audio logo.
You can find the full study here !
⏱️ 1 – Opt for a Short Audio Logo
Before this study, we tended to advise brands to opt for a short audio signature (about 5 seconds) for a simple reason: shorter audio content has the advantage of not taking up too much time in a spot and being easier to remember.
The study brings us a new argument to support the short audio logo.
Until now, brands used their audio signature only at the end of the spot. Now, more and more brands are using the audio logo several times in the same spot (radio or TV), once at the beginning and once at the end.
This is particularly the case for Xbox, State Farm Insurance and Honda, that have achieved a 5-point increase in their “efficiency score” thanks to this technique.
This practice is obviously effective, but it can only be used by brands with a short audio signature. In fact, if the signature lasts 10 seconds and is used twice in a 30-second spot, the risk of saturation on the part of listeners is high !
If you already have a long audio logo or prefer to create a long one anyway, then you can create a short variation.
Here is an example of a variation with Getasound jingle :
Complete Audio Logo
Short Audio Logo Variation
🎵 2 – Create a Melodic Audio Logo for a Better Memorization
We distinguish two types of audio logos :
- Melodic : the melody is central, and easy to distinguish from the whole.
This is for example the SNCF jingle case.
- Non-melodic: the melody is absent or difficult to identify. In this case, the focus is on sound design.
For example : Renault.
The study shows that melodic logos score +25% overall and memorization of +50%. (and +75% on the UK sample!).
🎤 3️ – Include a Voice and a Brand Name
We notice that memorization is superior by 25 points on average for the audio signatures that include the brand’s name through a voiceover. We also observe an identification superior by 53 points compared to “nonverbal ” signatures.
The company ” Liberty Mutual ” illustrates well this point. In fact, this brand reworked its jingle by repeating the word “Liberty ” several times (the old version used this word). Following this, it recorded a sound score progression on all aspects, with mainly a rise of 7 points in terms of memorization (the highest study rise). Besides, it reached second place in audio logo rankings in only a year !
On the contrary, the American company Autozone, which removed its name from its jingle, saw a significant drop in its score compared to the previous year.
As you can see, the presence of a verbal element has a significant influence on the efficiency of the audio logo. However, be careful not to neglect the choice of the voice-over.
It is not enough to include a voice-over, but to include the right voice-over to represent your brand. Indeed, the voice is an essential dimension of the sonic branding and it can be found on many supports (podcasts, voicebot, spot). It must therefore correspond to your brand’s personality and be of perfect quality.
👉 In conclusion
Several good practices allow the creation of a jingle that will stick in your listeners’ heads :
- Short duration and repetitive use in the spots
- The presence of an easily identifiable melody
- The presence of a verbal element.
However, let’s not forget that it is not about a ” magical formula ” and that the success of an audio signature is based first and foremost on its coherence with the brand’s universe.
Need to create an audio logo ?
Getasound conveys your brand into music and connects you with the best composers to develop your sonic branding.
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