Mastercard holds ground as Best Audio Brand, says amp

Global sonic branding agency amp has released its annual Best Audio Brands Index. Running for a fifth straight year, the report ranks 250 of the best audio brands in 2023, with Mastercard, Shell and Aviva all finishing high up. The report also acknowledged newcomers to audio branding and sonic brands which improved the most from last year.

The Best Audio Brands Index aims to capture just how effectively brands are using sound each year. Noting brands’ use of sound and music across digital channels and multiple brand touchpoints over the past year, the report took into account as many as 10,000 data points.

Finishing top for a second consecutive year, Mastercard has added to its ever-expanding holistic sonic strategy. The brand partnered with Puerto Rico pop duo Domino Saints for the creation of ‘Rockstar’, a single which became the official anthem for the Women’s Copa America football tournament. With the duo using the brand’s sonic DNA in the track, Mastercard successfully utilised Latin music to connect to its audience.

Elsewhere, Shell ranked in second place, also for a second consecutive year, finishing quite comfortably as the best audio brand from the energy sector. Aviva, which first introduced its sonic identity in 2021, ranked third, while Old Spice and Colgate completed the top five.

H&M improved the most, with regards to its audio brand, compared with 2022. Ranking as low as 240th last year, the fashion brand shot up 165 places to 75th. Other big improvers include Wells Fargo (184th to 25th), Zurich (232nd to 101st) and Ford (197th to 78th).

Conversely, Siemens had the largest drop off. The technology company failed to capitalise on ranking 16th in 2022, dropping to as low as 153rd this year. Other brands which flopped include Bosch (33rd to 168th), Huggies (66th to 198th) and Michelin (50th to 173rd).

The report also noted that four brands (Old Spice, PlayStation, Avocados From Mexico and Campbell’s) utilised their respective sonic logos in 100% of their content. This is three brands more than in 2022.

Two newcomers took the Best Audio Brand Index by storm: TikTok and Lieferando. The social media platform, which uses the new sonic logo at the end of every user-made video when exported from the app, ranked 48th. Meanwhile, Lieferando, the German subsidiary of Just Eat, ranked 7th.