Dive Brief:

• Frito-lay brand Tostitos launched a sonic logo in January and is now rolling it out more broadly, according to information shared with Marketing Dive. The 1.5 second-long sound is meant to remind consumers of the crunching of Tostitos chips and the opening of Tostitos salsa jars.
• The audio logo, created by Made Music Studio, was associated with a brand recall rate 20% higher than what is typically seen for CPG food brands, according to the results of a consumer survey conducted by Veritonic that was shared with Marketing Dive.
• Consumers are spending an increasing amount of time on audio only channels, where they cannot see visual brand advertising, according to Made Music Studio. A distinguishable audio signature is more important than ever as consumers make this switch.

Dive Insight:

Spoken word audio content listening is up 40% in the past seven years, with an 8% year-over-year increase. This trend is largely fueled by younger and multicultural listeners. Additionally, there are approximately 86 million podcast listeners in the United States alone. The popularity of such programs have driven a need for brands to have a unique audio signature.

Audio signatures have become more prevalent in recent years. While sound has been used in logos for decades (think McDonald's iconic "ba da ba ba ba"), sonic logos are specifically made for audio-only mediums. For example, Mastercard unveiled a sonic brand identity in 2019 that consists of a series of short melodic chirps.

Tostitos' new audio logo, which incorporates sound created by the cracking of chips and the tapping of salsa jars, had a 13% higher overall brand appeal score compared to the norm for CPG foods, according to a survey conducted by Veritonic. Additionally, 64% of respondents found the sound to be fun, and 64% of 18 to 34 year-olds thought the sound embodied the brand.

By incorporating sounds for its salsa jars, Tostitos brings awareness to its non-chip products. In addition to a wide variety of chips, Tostitos has a range of premade salsas and drips. The audio logo makes use of the brand's jarred products by using them as a stand-in for drums.

The audio logo could help Tostitos stand out in the competitive snacks space. As consumers, especially young ones, spend more time consuming audio-only content, having a unique audio signature could make the brand more recognizable.