10 Audio Logos So Effective You’ll Know Them All
Today brand identities for major corporations are worth billions of dollars. Most of you I’m sure are intensely aware of the importance of a visual logo in creating a brand identity, however, companies are now looking for the next thing to grow their brand. This is not to say that visual identity is gone, it’s just that we humans have other senses that can help us recognize a company.
Marketers who are working on the problem call this sensory branding. In this post I’m going to focus on one aspect of sensory branding called audio branding.
Experts in the field of audio branding generally define it as the strategic use of sound within a business. One of the most recognizable parts of an audio brand is the audio logo. An audio logo is a short sound byte that usually accompanies a visual logo on screen.
For your inspiration here are 10 of the most recognizable audio logos.
Intel
Intel inside has been one of the most successful brand building exercises.
NBC
The iconic three note chime is synonymous with this media company. Funny thing about this audio logo is that NBC never intended this to be part of their brand. You can read more about the history of the NBC chimes here.
McDonald’s
I’m lovin’ this audio logo.
20th Century Fox
Although this one breaks the mold of a traditional audio logo it is strongly associated with the company.
MGM
Nothing is more powerful than a lion roar… except maybe a crying baby.
Yahoo!
Sadly this brand has met some tough competition as of late. The yodel will forever be stuck in my head.
Nokia
Nokia recently crowdsourced a new audio logo, but the classic sound will no doubt be remembered.
LG
Life is good.
THX
No movie is complete without it.
Mercedes Benz
It’s like heaven from the skies. Luxury at its best.
Do you have a favorite audio logo? Can you recognize a company by its voice or sound? Tell us in the comments section.
Grab the Feed
Not a big company but this is a nostalgic favorite of mines
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aDtC6gsRpg
Good one. Reminds me of The Simpsons.
Great sound designs. i know them all more or less. for me the background would be very interesting. Why did a company choose this type of sound. Who was the componist… Could you write more about this?
Grafiker, It’s tough to find the actual reasons a company choose the sound. However, a few of the examples above were intended to serve a purpose far before it became a part of the brand.
For example, the three note chime that NBC uses was originally designed to tell station managers that a program has ended and that they should announce their call sign (”This is WNYX broadcasting from Seattle Washington”). You can read more about the history of the NBC chimes here.
THX low notes served a more technical role in that it was used to test the speakers in a movie theater.
One point that needs to be mentioned as Steve Keller, a fellow audio brand specialist, mentions is that effective audio logos should fit their audience and brand values, it should be memorable, and needs to be ownable. Flexibility is good to as sometimes the audio logo is the basis of other brand sounds.
The smart companies who invest in audio branding spend plenty of time researching that the above criteria is present.
I’ll be posting more about audio branding here on Fuel Your Creativity and you can get more info on the subject by either joining our complementary monthly E-Zine called Sound Advice or you can download our free eBook at http://trebrand.com/audiobrand.php
Feel free to drop more questions here as well.
Nice collection, Jordan!
When executing audio logos, care should be taken to make sure they’re congruent (fit the brand), distinct, recognizable, flexible and ownable.
Interesting to note that there’s been some controversy around the Mercedes audio logo. Seems it’s just a sample taken from a sampling library – which means that there’s no way Mercedes could own or protect their audio logo. Ultimately, this makes for a logo that is potentially not very distinct (if it’s available for others to use) or ownable (since it’s coming directly from a sample library – with no modification.) I’m guessing that’s why these days you seldom here it.
You can see more here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGi92yx9DZA
And a bit more of the story here (thought it’s in German – google translate can help): http://www.qxm.de/gestaltung/080717-1208/jung-von-matt-und-das-mercedes-benz-sound-logo-update?
Thanks for the reply Steve.
Yes, I can’t overstate the importance of owning your brand Identities and that includes the sounds you use.
The Mercedes-Benz controversy beckons the recent mis-steps by Apple over use of the Siri voice. A rare moment for Apple not to own it’s brand. More on this story can be found here: http://www.fastcompany.com/1841193/siri-in-cars-shes-already-there
So, again Steve you are right on spot, pardon the pun.
I really love this. I think these tunes are very effective as some people are more of an auditory than visual learners. Also, I think they should create a game about this, something like “name that tune” but instead it should be “name that brand”.
Hey Steve,
Sorry for the wait in replying.
I’m glad you enjoyed the article and yeah it would be a blast to create a game like name that brand. I actually did a bit of that in a webinar recently. It should be released soon on my site so can try it out if you wish.
Best,
Jordan