How can audio get a bigger share in the media plan?
Improvement in audience measurement was highlighted last year at The Future of Audio Europe as a top priority for industry professionals.
One year on, is that still the case? And is that the best way to grow audio’s share on media plans?
The Media Leader posed the question to industry experts ahead of next month’s Future of Audio and Entertainment.
Simon Kilby, managing director, Bauer Media Advertising
“We want advertisers to place significantly more value on trust. Audiences and brands deserve a safe media environment and audio is proven to deliver that, as Europe’s most trusted media with a 77% trust rating, compared with social media’s 15%.
“Yet, over half of the UK’s ad budget is spent on digital and social. The audioverse can connect with scaled audiences across multiple channels, from live radio to connected listening and podcasts, so agencies should redirect spend from untrusted and problematic platforms and invest more in brand-safe environments. This is not just how, but why audio should land a bigger share in the media plan.”
Flora Williams, head of planning, Manning Gottlieb OMD
“Unlock the full power of audio by harnessing the power of context.
“Within audio lies a big opportunity to use your brand to enhance the listener’s experience. The audio ecosystem is increasingly complex and fragmented, but this variety is opportunity.
“Giving us the breadth of context to be able to reach consumers in a choice of many ways: how they are feeling, what they are doing, what they are listening to and what’s going on around them. Discover how the brand can enhance those moments and the outcomes will speak for themselves, which will in turn drive a bigger share into audio.”
Howard Bareham, co-founder, Trisonic
“‘Education, Education, Education…’ (Tony Blair, 1996)
“The audio market is on a roll, with record radio audiences, new targeting and attribution metrics via digital audio, new ad formats and, of course, podcasts. Audio really does have something for everyone. But do agencies and brands really understand the audio medium and its potential?
“Proof of concept for brands or agencies through audience measurement or individual campaign results is debatable, but I would argue that some haven’t even got past first base in their understanding of audio and, as such, the medium may not even be a consideration.
“Agencies will gain that understanding by upskilling and being more inquisitive — brands can and are self-educating. Media sales groups can help by showcasing case studies and there are industry-wide initiatives that the audio industry does well, notably Radiocentre’s array of (underused) resources.
“To quote another well-known phrase: knowledge is power. Advertisers don’t do what they don’t understand. Give them that knowledge and we’ll see audio getting a bigger slice of the pie.”
Lucy Barrett, client director, Radiocentre
“Get brands to measure radio’s effects properly. At Radiocentre, we understand the full potential of radio and audio advertising, and we strive to persuade brands and agencies to see radio differently by challenging the preconceptions they sometimes have around the medium.
“As you will see when we reveal some findings from our newest research project at the conference, our latest challenge relates to radio’s performance marketing capabilities. Without giving too much away, we will demonstrate how radio’s capabilities are being massively underestimated by brands and agencies, because traditional short-term attribution techniques aren’t fit for purpose when it comes to measuring radio ad response for performance brands.
“With the research findings, we can now help brands, in particular performance-led brands, better understand how they can measure radio’s true effects. So we could see them reallocating more of their budgets into radio and audio, boosting the overall efficiency of their performance marketing.”
Simon Dyson, senior principal analyst for music and digital audio, Omdia
“Audio has always been a very personal experience. For the most part, consuming recorded audio is largely a solitary experience: everyone has their own specific taste in music and, more recently, their favourite podcast. Furthermore, music has always thrived by being highly versatile.
“In other words, being everywhere has always been key in the battle against other media sectors. Although consumers have limited media consumption time, music can be enjoyed while engaging in other activities.
“No other media can boast this and so producers of audio content shouldn’t see listening as a battle against other media to hold on to their share of the media pie, but more an experience that can enhance other activities.”
Tiffany Ashitey, managing director, US, Acast
“The global podcast advertising market continues to flourish, with recent reports projecting it to reach $43bn by 2032. Simultaneously, the global creator economy is on the rise, with Goldman Sachs predicting a $480bn value by 2027.
“At Acast, we believe the relationship between podcast advertising and the creator economy is deeply intertwined and the key to success for podcasters looking for larger shares of media plans is to demonstrate their impact not only with audio, but across platforms that are complementary or reflective of their podcast work — like video, social media and live events.
“As advertisers continue to see podcasting’s audience influence and engagement, it’s helping the medium to be seen as a complement to other media investments. Creators should continue to nurture that loyalty on and off audio platforms because brands want engaged audiences — and engaged audiences are attracted to content authenticity. For advertisers, this also unlocks larger integrated marketing budgets to invest in podcasters.”
Michal Marcinik, CEO, AdTonos
“The recent GroupM and IAB Europe report on programmatic audio states it very clearly: what is holding back the buyers’ spend is audio measurement. Although standards are well-defined, the challenge is that when they were discussed, audio was almost just radio. Now, the audio universe is much wider, expanded into podcasts, audiobooks, gaming, music streaming or even to connected TV recently.
“As an industry, we need to reassess the measurement standards to make them more appealing to buyers that are well-versed in digital and seek the simplicity they get from online. They need to have confidence in the definition of a good listen through rate, a healthy audibility average and what are the further ways to optimise them to boost ROI.”
Zoe Cadman, commercial agency director, Global
“Digital audio is the route to securing a greater share for audio on media plans, plus investment into formats including podcasts, music streaming and mobile games.
“The benefits and huge scale that traditional audio offers across established brands — including Capital, LBC and Smooth Radio, for example — is extremely well-researched, so combining that with the incredible data targeting and measurement capabilities that a digital channel offers is a no-brainer to increase the effectiveness and reach of a campaign.
“Here at Global, we’ve built state-of-the-art targeting into Dax (our digital ad exchange) and our advertising partners can reach audiences listening on any device. They also have access to chart-topping, award-winning podcasts like The News Agents and My Therapist Ghosted Me, music streaming via Global Player and SoundCloud, plus hundreds of mobile games via our in-game advertising partner, Odeeo.”
Tom Bottomley, head of programmatic, Journey Further
“Audio is a diverse medium that can reach premium audiences, amplify other marketing such as influencers and brand ambassadors and, most importantly, make one-to-one emotional connections by talking to people directly.
“Audio’s focus must now be to champion relevance and future-proofing measurement so that brands can continue to understand the ROI in a privacy-first world. As relevance moves back up the agenda in advertising, progress has been made in understanding the impact of audio for those wanting to build brands.
“The breadth of topics covered through podcasts alone presents huge opportunity for contextually relevant advertising that can tap into multiple levels of intent — something pretty unique, especially when it can be backed up by effective measurement.”