The popularity of streaming music and podcasts is on the rise, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have only reinforced the trend towards audio-on-demand.
According to the latest Edison Research, 74% of Australians aged over 12 listened to online audio in the last month, up from 53% in 2018. Podcasting among Australians has doubled in the last four years, with the average listener consuming five podcasts a week. A quarter of us now own a smart speaker - a fivefold increase from just 5% in 2018.
When it comes to streaming music, Spotify is the market leader, used by 8 million Australians last year which was double its user-base in 2017.
Across every measure the trend is up.
And with so many more people using their phone and other smart devices to login and listen, the opportunities for audio advertising are expanding fast.
Audio has always had a unique status for clients.
The combination of both intimacy and reach creates powerful opportunities for messaging. Audio tends to remain in the subconscious memory and listeners rarely switch off during ad breaks. This is even more true of digital audio, as the majority of listeners do so via headphones, and are often physically pre-occupied (walking, jogging, cooking, driving) while listening.
For example, more than half of all podcast listeners are using the medium in the car or on foot, so they’re not going to change the channel or grab a cuppa during an advertising break. In this state they are uniquely open to relevant messaging.
The rise of digital audio platforms has also added a more personalised dimension to audio advertising. This is a shift away from the mass market approach inherent in traditional radio ads, which offer great reach but with less precision.
Podcasts in particular are generating a level of trust and intimacy between podcaster and listener which creates an ideal messaging opportunity for brands looking to align with particular groups.
To take advantage of these opportunities, advertisers are relying on programmatic audio advertising.
What is programmatic audio advertising?
Programmatic audio is a method of buying audio advertising using a demand-side platform (DSP). This is a system for advertisers to buy ads from multiple publishers on a single digital platform.
A DSP links advertisers and publishers with intelligent software which creates far more efficiencies in the buying and selling of ads than traditional negotiation, which has inherent limitations for both parties.
Programmatic audio not only automates the process of buying advertising, but also allows the advertiser to target a specific audience in a way that traditional radio advertising cannot.
This is thanks to the advanced range of data points available for targeting. Users logging in to a streaming platform provide broad demographic data such as age and gender, along with variables such as location, weather, time of day, listening device, and listening habits.
There are some incredibly creative possibilities for leveraging this data to reach target audiences with highly relevant content.
Benefits of Programmatic Audio Advertising
There are some other big benefits of using programmatic audio ads. These include:
A flexible buying process
Buying audio advertising has never been better than with programmatic audio. Resolution has a smorgasbord of options to choose from. The efficiency and scalability of these platforms means it’s possible to include audio on your plan with almost any budget.
Pivot and refine a campaign on the fly
Programmatic ads are a lot more agile, allowing our traders to change tactics mid-campaign and turn mediocre performance into something case study worthy.
This is handy if a campaign needs refinement, or an external news event occurs (lockdown, anyone?) which advertisers can ‘piggy back’ to create a more pertinent message.
Is programmatic audio the right option to add to your paid media strategy?
Audio advertising has been a mainstay of brand awareness building for decades, and is typically a part of an overall media strategy used in conjunction with other media and branding strategies as a demand driver.
Programmatic audio is no different. The real jump forward is just how flexible, targeted, and accessible this advertising method can be.
Executed correctly, this increases the opportunity to make meaningful connections for your brand with an audience of engaged listeners at a very reasonable cost.
Programmatic audio also allows you to align your brand with the buzz of an evolving medium which is still fresh and exciting for listeners.
How can we help you get started?
Resolution Digital is an industry leader in implementing effective digital audio campaigns as part of a holistic strategy.
We have close partnerships with key programmatic audio platforms which include leading DSPs such as DV360, The Trade Desk, Amobee, Verizon Media, and Amazon DSP.
You want to be sure when you’re entrusting your media spend to an agency, they know how to use the tools at their disposal.
Our staff have regular training and development in how to optimise these platforms, so we can quickly evaluate and select the best performing one(s) depending on your business goal.
This expertise can help eliminate budget waste and target your ideal audience in a streamlined fashion. One of the benefits of programmatic audio is its scalability, so it can fit into a huge range of budgets.
Our first priority is to understand your business challenge and how we can help you solve it.
Wondering if programmatic audio could work for you, or want to discuss a potential campaign? Feel free to Contact Us with an inquiry.
