Bauer’s Rayo app to offer branded content ‘in due course’
Bauer Media Audio UK has officially launched its on-demand audio app Rayo after a soft launch last year and subsequent beta-testing. More ad opportunities will arrive in due course, according to the company.
Planet Radio, Bauer’s previous online listening offering, has relaunched as hellorayo.co.uk, while its ecommerce solution Planet Offers has been retained.
The Media Leader understands that Bauer’s existing brand apps, such as Absolute Radio, remain available, but listeners are encouraged to download Rayo to discover more content.
Rayo is available for free on app, web and smart speaker, and offers listeners access to more than 50 stations, including Absolute Radio, Magic, Greatest Hits Radio and Kiss, alongside curated playlists and additional on-demand content.
It offers users personalised recommendations for radio stations, playlists and podcasts based on listening habits, as well as more targeting and personalisation options for advertisers.
To mark the launch, Bauer has unveiled an on-air campaign with promotional trails and live reads from presenters including Ken Bruce, Tyler West and Penny Smith across its stations.
Say hello to Rayo, the new way to listen to all your favourite radio stations.
To try it for yourself and get listening, and download it from the App Store today ✨ pic.twitter.com/K6Qx8Ff2dd
— Rayo (@HelloRayoUK) June 24, 2024
Analysis: Connected audio ad opportunity
Connected audio now reaches 68% of the population, according to Rajar’s measurement of internet-delivered audio services (Midas).
The reach figure is up 15 percentage points on 2019, while average listening hours have increased 3.1 hours over the same period.
Meanwhile, Q1 Rajar audience data showed smart speaker listening to all radio increased 19% year on year, with 170m hours listened on these devices in an average week.
The proportion of listening on smart speakers was higher for commercial radio, at 21%, overtaking commercial analogue listening for the first time (19%).
These figures point to a growing opportunity around connected audio listening.
Simon Kilby, managing director at Bauer Media Advertising, said: “Bauer is already ahead of the market with connected listening and the on-air launch of Rayo marks a real step-change as we further increase our focus in this area.
“With the ability to unlock increased targeting and personalisation, the scale and richness of what we can offer commercial partners through our digital audio advertising offering will be considerable.”
Through logged-in listening, Rayo enables an “even better” understanding of audiences, and this will in turn allow an increase in “the scale and richness” of first-party data pools and opportunities for digital audio advertising via app and online.
Partnerships and audioverse coming soon
The Media Leader understands that branded content and partnership opportunities in the Rayo app and online are coming soon.
Rayo will aggregate sponsorship and partnership content from Bauer stations as well as offer “standalone content” created especially for these digital audiences, with these opportunities coming “in due course”.
Simon Myciunka, CEO for Bauer Media Audio UK, added: “We’ve spent a great amount of time developing Rayo to meet both needs [of consumers and advertisers] and we’re really excited to take our audiences into the audioverse with the amazing human connection that radio offers.”
What next for Bauer and radio? Interview w/ Simon Myciunka, CEO of Bauer Media Audio UK