Winners & Losers of the Sonic World Cup 2022

The World Cup is over for another four years and, whatever your views on a myriad of controversial topics, it can’t be denied that the beautiful game has delivered on the pitch.

Whilst there were many watching Messi and Mbappe fight it out in an air-conditioned stadium in Qatar, the vast majority of fans around the world tuned in live on TV. And no contest was fiercer than that which occurred in the ad breaks, where brands vied for viewer attention.

Audio logos dominated the airwaves. On Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), it was clear to hear their main advertisers relying on sonic branding to amplify their brand messaging. This allowed them to communicate their brand even whilst viewers brewed their morning coffee or diverted their gaze to a second screen.

So how did the main sponsors fare in the battle of the sonic brands?

Resonance Sonic Branding measured the effectiveness of the audio logos of the main advertisers during SBS’s coverage of the world cup. They are: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Colonial First State, Hisense, HSBC, Hyundai, Kia and McDonalds.

They asked 150 Australian football fans questions on brand recognition and favourability based on listening to just their audio logos.

A score has been developed based on the results of the consumer research and Resonance Sonic Branding’s own evaluation criteria: Uniqueness, Rapport, Consistency, Time

The results were fascinating.

McDonalds: 0/10

A shining light in the world of audio logos. After years of consistent use, it is now recognisable in almost every conceivable instrument combination. It is no longer reliant on melody or rhythm and has discarded the tagline which lives rent free in the consumer’s mind nonetheless. This audio logo is well and truly in the sonic branding hall of fame. Dumbfounding then that McDonald’s left it off their global advertising campaign.

HSBC: 2/10

Ranked the least recognisable audio logo by the public research (18.1%), respondents mistook it for a range of Retailers and Telcos. The serious-sounding melody was described by one listener as the sound of a train going past, no doubt due to the choice of a generic instrument and a Doppler shift inflection in the melody. When placed on the end of their Home Loans campaign, it feels out of place and offers an alarming end to a happy family scene.

Hyundai: 5/10

Hyundai has been very committed to using their audio logo consistently across advertising as well as in their vehicles. The melody is positive with two sequential rising motifs with the rhythm giving a sense of forward motion - perfect for an automotive brand with ambitions for the future. Whilst a few respondents in the research correctly named the brand, many attributed the sounds to other automotive brands (Volvo, Audi, BMW, Kia). Hyundai clearly has a well-constructed melody, but they have varied the instrumentation and pitch so much in their implementation of the logo that they have hindered the recognition of the asset (20.1%). Perhaps only Hyundai owners, exposed to it on every journey, will be able to attribute it in the short- to medium-term until they focus on one hero version.

Hisense: 5/10

This is the shortest audio logo in our research set and a tough one to pick out in a line-up. Hisense ads appeared most frequently during the coverage but over 75% of respondents said it sounded unfamiliar. The audio logo places Hisense in the right sector, with best-guesses for the brand hovering around tech brands Samsung, Sony, LG and Apple. Although the single note of Hisense is not necessarily aiding recall, it is placing them in good associated company - not a bad thing for a brand trying to compete with a fraction of the budget.

Colonial First State: 6/10

It is important to preface this by saying that this audio logo was created by us specifically for CFS’s sponsorship of the coverage of the world cup. It is a very new asset which has performed admirably when compared to long-standing competitors. It ranked as the third most familiar audio logo (22.8%) despite launching less than a month ago. Respondents compared the audio logo to that of an energy drink or sports brand which plays nicely to CFS’s attitudinal positioning compelling retirees to “Unleash your second half”. We look forward to seeing it used consistently by the CFS brand team beyond the tournament.

Kia: 6.5/10

Kia’s tagline Movement that inspires is evident in its audio logo which picks up momentum as it ascends a major scale. Very similar in tone to the Hyundai logo, Kia almost always say the brand name and tagline over the music. In this research we played the music solo and although it was the second most-familiar audio logo (30.9%), it was not correctly named by any respondents and ranked low in favourability. As Kia continues to build its brand in Australia, it seems they are still reliant on a spoken message for now.

As always, football is the winner:

 Qatar World Cup: 9/10

The audio logo of the tournament is heard at the beginning and end of every ad break and is seeded in the mind by a tournament anthem heard throughout the coverage. The audio logo does well to represent its Qatari heritage in using regional instruments and has a melody that is simple and memorable. Over 20% of respondents could name the brand when prompted and its association with the games undoubtedly contributed to its high favourability score (51.3%).

Our key takeaways are:

• Convey an emotion or idea

• Stay consistent until recall is achieved, only then vary execution

• Seed your audio logo within your music to speed up recognition

• Stand out with distinctive instrumentation

• Let your audio logo breathe, don’t cover it with spoken word