Ask most advertisers about audio, and they’ll tell you it’s great for driving awareness, but maybe not much else. That’s because even though consumer behavior as it pertains to digital audio has evolved tremendously, marketers have been too busy to really understand how far digital audio has come. Despite the tremendous evolution of consumer behavior around digital audio, many marketers haven’t had the time or tools to truly understand how far the format has come. What might once have been an afterthought for media planning is emerging as one of the most engaging and impactful channels in the mix–often more cost effective than CTV and social.
A key challenge to broader adoption has been understanding. Not only have new audio formats like in-game ads and smart speaker ads evolved, but so have the supporting technologies throughout the ecosystem. From major insurance carriers and quick-serve restaurants to DTC startups, a wide range of advertisers are taking advantage of the advances in digital audio. Still, many without a legacy of audio advertising have been hesitant to adopt these new methodologies. There are three main ways that technological advancements are changing that and making digital audio a channel, regardless of vertical, no advertiser can ignore.
Attributable Audio is now the Standard
Accurate attribution is one of the foundations of digital advertising, and for a long time, there weren’t great solutions for digital audio. That isn’t the case anymore, and advertisers now have a number of choices when it comes to how they measure the impact of audio campaigns throughout the funnel.
For a while, advertisers used discount codes in audio ads to track campaign performance, and this tactic remains effective for driving initial conversions. Thanks to new attribution partners like Podscribe, as well as Claritas’ acquisition of Arts.ai, there are multiple options for audio advertisers to measure the impact of audio ads on conversions. For app-based campaigns, solutions like Kochava, AppsFlyer, and Adjust make it possible to connect app installs to audio ads–especially when they’re connected to our next technological advancement: clickable audio.
The Rise of “Clickable” Audio
While many listeners engage with audio in the background, while driving or working out, there’s been a rise in “lean forward” engagement with audio ads. Audio is no longer consumed passively; it’s increasingly paired with visuals, especially in environments like mobile gaming where users are actively engaged. In these scenarios, companion visuals offer clickable elements that reinforce the brand message and drive action to a destination page.
Clickable audio gives advertisers the best of both worlds: the audibility that is crucial for brand awareness, along with the performance metrics they’re used to from traditional click-through advertising, such as CTR and post-click engagement, often delivered at a much more performant rate thanks to the impact of audio.
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Targeting, Context and Curation come to Audio
Thanks to the broader adoption of programmatic audio and greater tech investments by ad-supported listening platforms, targeting approaches have evolved to make reaching audiences through audio just as compelling as through other channels.
Context has always been a driver for audio advertising strategies, whether by daypart targeting (ads for breakfast specials during the morning commute or family meals on the drive home) or by aligning with certain broadcasters or programming formats. Today, context continues to play a significant role as brands think about which talent reaches their target audience. Thanks to newer AI solutions like Barometer, advertisers can assess the content of individual podcast episodes for better brand alignment and brand safety. The same goes for mobile games, where you can use the game context to make sure your ad appears in the best moment possible.
But targeting with podcasts and other audio formats can go beyond context, with the combination of first party data from streaming logins and third-party data sources have opened the door to robust audience targeting across audio platforms.
And just as with display and video, supply-side curation has reached the audio world. Curation partners and suppliers can now deliver high-performing, curated audiences reachable by audio that are just as effective for display and video campaigns.
Where does audio measurement go from here
For a long time, audio advertising had evolved much more slowly behind display and video. But the rapid investment and advances in audio measurement, especially post-COVID, are making audio just as compelling as other formats for brands looking to cut through the noise. Measurements for the actual audibility of audio ads is a direction we see marketers lean towards, supported by large measurement providers. This is similar to the already well-adopted approach when running display and video ads (and measuring their viewability).
As AI becomes more prevalent, we expect to see a greater emphasis on audio ad creation and A/B testing thanks to decreased costs and ease of creative approval. We’re already seeing what’s possible with generative AI and this is only the first step in an advertising revolution.
No matter how you look at it, the future sounds bright.
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