Veritonic, the audio research and analytics platform, published an annual report on the brands and industries in the U.S. that have produced the most effective audio logos in the past year. 

The logos are ranked based on how successfully brands could get 2,800 panelists to recall the ad, associate it with the brand and resonate with the content. Melodic logos that mention the brand tend to score higher among listeners.

The podcasting industry had an estimated 120 million podcast listeners in the U.S. as of 2021. By 2023, that number should surpass 160 million listeners. The growing total of audio listeners indicates to businesses that the key to increasing reach can be through enhancing the company's sound profile. 

“Consumers today are more mobile and connected than ever before,” said Veritonic founder and CEO Scott Simonelli. “For this reason, an increasing number of brands are recognizing audio as a critical and meaningful component for their omnichannel marketing strategy.” 

Several brands have released new audio logos over the last year, including General Motors, Lexus, Trojan and Hulu Originals. 

Read: 20 brands getting Gen Z’s attention (and dollars)    

Fast food restaurants and insurance were the top two sectors featuring brands with the most effective logos. Other leading industries include telecom and entertainment, which tied for third, consumer packaged goods in fourth place and medical/pharma rounding out the top five.

The audio logo mirrors the loud and captivating TV spots of the meaty sandwich-centric chain, sparking high brand association from consumers. The ad’s creative attributes ranked similarly to KFC, Little Caesars and Red Robin.

In 2014, Arby's changed its tagline and began airing 'we have the meats' ads

Scoring the most innovative in the restaurant industry at 79%, the burger chain also had an unsurpassed industry association of almost 80%.

The windshield repair and replacement company had the highest recall of 87% and was the overall highest scoring logo in the automotive and auto parts industry. 

The hardware company’s audio logo outranked all other brands in the retail industry by 10 percentage points. Following the practice encouraged by Veritonic of incorporating the brand name into the ad in a harmonious manner, Ace Hardware has left its impression on listeners.

Panelists recalled Little Caesars better than any other restaurant chain with an audio logo. The "Pizza! Pizza!" chain was also familiar to 89% of consumers.

From 2021: Little Caesars takes on Big Pizza, and the ad industry remembers Cliff Freeman

The “Finger-lickin' good” slogan was highly recognizable by 70% of consumers. Along with Popeyes, KFC was noted as most trustworthy, ranking as the most effective brand from the restaurant industry.

KFC appropriates other brands' slogans (from 2020)

The tune, accompanied by its well-known slogan, “We are Farmers,” placed the insurance company fourth overall, and third in the insurance industry.

The insurance company tied with State Farm as the most familiar audio logo and had the greatest recall of 91%. Liberty Mutual also scored the highest in brand association, which is to be expected—the brand name is mentioned four times in the catchy sing-song clip.

More from Ad Age: The 9 most popular insurance ad characters, ranked 

Through consistent use of its audio logo, State Farm scored most trustworthy, likable and innovative among the insurance companies. The slogan also elicited the highest association to the industry from more than 70% of consumers. 

See State Farm's 'Challenge Your Assumptions' campaign

The ground coffee brand was ranked the highest for the iconic jingle it has advertised with since the 1980s, now adapted for audio platforms: 93% of respondents were familiar with the logo, 87% found it likable and 86% found it trustworthy. 

Also read: Folgers embraces its 'bad reputation'