With holiday season already here, based on the amount of all-Christmas radio stations around the U.S. and holiday goods at retailers, how can one better understand how brands can build a more cost-effective audio strategy to reach On-the-Go Families between now and the end of the year?
Scott Simonelli, Founder and CEO of Veritonic, has some ideas to share.
By Scott Simonelli
The holiday season is both the happiest and most overwhelming time of year. This year in
particular, a looming recession and rising inflation rates have led to trends in extra fiscal
consciousness. We see this most predominantly when honing in on one demographic in
particular: families engaging in holiday shopping.
Deviating from the consumer sphere, brands are also plagued with overwhelm as competition in the advertising space becomes increasingly fierce. Advertisers seeking meaningful and effective engagement with their audiences need to be tactical and strategic about their advertising campaigns, particularly as it relates to reaching relevant, on-the-go families. This is where one critical, on-the-go marketing vehicle comes into play: audio.
Audio advertising has burgeoned as a powerful and personal marketing vehicle that an
increasing number of brands are successfully utilizing to engage target audiences. A mobile-first medium, audiences are able to consume their favorite streaming audio, talk, and podcast content anywhere and at any time, making audio an indispensable channel for effective advertising during the busiest times of the year.
Aligning with the goal of right message, right time, and right place is easily one of the largest benefits of audio advertising. Multi-platform audio content and entertainment company, Audacy Corp., found that 52% of parents with children are listening to podcasts in the car.
Listening to audio as a family not only serves as an intimate bonding experience, but also offers a tremendous opportunity for advertisers to reach all members of a family at the same time with messaging that can spark conversation, increase memorability, influence purchase decisions, and potentially result in a faster conversion rate. Additionally, podcast audiences have historically been incredibly loyal and engaged. The immersive nature of podcasts combined with the acceptance of ads as part of the listening experience is continuously resulting in high ROI and recall for brand advertisers. The Audacy Ad-
Length Study inclusive of Veritonic data stated super listeners, those who listen to both OTA and podcast content, are 33% more likely to recall brand messaging and 31% more likely to show purchase intent than typical listeners. By advertising on both streaming audio and podcasts, brand names remain top of mind long after the ads are heard.
Understanding how your audio assets are contributing to your overall marketing goals is critical. Tracking metrics like foot traffic, web conversions, app downloads and more allows brands to connect the dots between ad creative and engagement, supporting the creation and optimization of successful and cost-effective audio advertising strategies today and moving forward.
Audacy’s 2022 State of Audio report reveals that 61% of podcast audiences listen through ads instead of skipping them. Brands need to take advantage of podcast listeners’ high retention and engagement rates and focus on how ad frequency and attentiveness drive traffic for possible revenue. Active families don’t have time to waste, and brands need to leverage creative testing and measurement solutions to ensure that their advertisements are optimized, and their target audience is being engaged. The use of full-funnel campaign management and measurement enables brands to be more thoughtful and strategic when it comes to optimizing ad performance.
The podcast industry is unique in that it offers entertainment that spans a wide array of genres that can be consumed anywhere. With recent data showing that most current consumers consume podcasts while wearing headphones, it’s clear that listeners really enjoy the hyper-personalized and intimate nature of this experience. Research has also recently indicated that podcast listeners have established trust with the hosts of their favorite shows and are therefore receptive to host-read audio advertisements as a result. Some 7 in 10 U.S. adults indicate they trust audio (OTA, streaming or podcast) for information on products and services — and that’s ahead of TV and video. For this reason, podcast advertising is a hyper-relevant and trusted vehicle for brand messaging, as opposed to the one-to-many nature of advertisements on broadcast radio or social media.
Because podcast advertisements can be in strong alignment with the subject matter that
listeners care about, advertisements that feel natural and casual will allow listeners to feel that the messaging has been catered to them specifically, thus creating a more authentic and intentional experience than some other forms of advertising.
Implementing an audio advertising strategy can ensure that holiday seasons are successful for brands. As a brand embarks on their audio journey, having a clear understanding of what their competition is doing, testing and optimizing their audio ad creative, and utilizing full-funnel campaign measurement to ensure that their audio is meaningfully contributing to their goals and KPIs are all important pieces of the audio strategy puzzle. As a proven medium for increasing key measures including recall and intent, audio advertising offers a unique branding opportunity that should be heavily utilized throughout all seasons.
A successful marketing technology professional, enterprise software sales leader, entrepreneur, advisor, composer, husband and father of four kids, Scott Simonelli founded Veritonic, which provides “Marketing Intelligence for Sound,” in April 2015. Connect with Simonelli on LinkedIn by clicking here.
