Sonic Branding Ranked #1 for Brand Awareness
Wow, this is really powerful! A recent post by our sonic research partners over at SoundOut has revealed that sonic branding is the most effective brand asset when it comes to maximizing brand awareness. The article references research completed by System1 and TikTok [Source: The Long & Short (Form) of It] which analyzed nearly 900 short-form ads and 92,000 consumers.
Among the findings, sonic assets (e.g. sonic logos, brand mnemonics, and audio identities) were determined to lift brand awareness a whopping 191% after exposure to just 2 seconds of short-form advertising – way more than any other distinctive brand asset including slogans, products, brand names, and even celebrity spokespersons.
Coming in at #4 are jingles (i.e. branded tunes like “Nationwide is on your side” and “Break me off a piece of that Kit-Kat bar”), which drive strong awareness (40%), but not as definitively as sonic assets.
How Sound Amps Up Awareness by 191%
The study focuses on two key aspects to drive brand awareness: 1) Attention, and 2) Fluency (i.e. ease of recognition). Sonic branding rates highly in both categories making it one of the strongest ‘hooks’ for brand awareness when compared with other distinctive brand assets. Keep in mind, we’re talking about a 2-second attention span. Sound is processed the fastest of all the senses – we’ve discussed this before here – making it ideal for capturing attention and communicating clearly in a short space of time.
The study further discusses the key roles that a brand’s creativity, size, and competitive landscape play in growing awareness. Worth noting is the finding that in short-form advertising there is a sweet spot of 4 distinctive brand assets needed to maximize awareness – use less and you may not generate enough attention or fluency, more and you risk overwhelming consumers. Sonic branding is a natural fit for this mix as it depends on a completely separate sense, as opposed to, say, logos, fonts, and colors which all depend on sight.
If you’re looking to grow brand awareness in a big way, sonic branding is no longer optional, it’s an absolute must. For even more, read SoundOut’s analysis here.