Are you thinking about using Podcasts as part of your advertising strategy?

There has been a huge growth in podcast listening over the last couple of years, whether it’s when exercising, travelling, cooking or just kicking back it’s a convenient, informative and entertaining way of listening to what you are interested in. 32% of people listen to podcasts monthly while 22% listen at least weekly (source: Edison Research). 67% of podcast listeners say that they perceive adverts on podcasts positively, trusting the adverts more than other types of advertising. (source: Statistics)

Podcast advertising allows brands to talk about their products gaining trust whilst listeners are consuming their favourite podcasts on their chosen trusted platform such as Spotify.

How does it work?

Adverts on podcasts can be delivered much like video-on-demand advertising. The audio is placed at the beginning, middle and end of a podcast episode, helping to establish a connection with the audience already engaged with their chosen podcast. 54% of people are more likely to buy from a company they have heard on a podcast advert (source:statistics)

What to consider?

1. Audience demographics – unlike TV advertising the audience won’t be as broad, podcasts offer the opportunity to advertise to the most active podcast audience –  1/3 of millennials regularly listen to podcasts (source EX-IQ), and are often seeking new information and are likely to afford to show interest in new products and have the disposable income to try them.

2. It’s all about alignment – Target podcasts that have audiences that will likely resonate with your advertising message. Podcasts can be niche and may offer great opportunities to connect with audiences by placing adverts in the right episodes to be more natural and related to the topic.

3. Utilise multiple podcasts – Advertise across a wider number of podcasts to ensure your message is being heard multiple times rather than investing in just advertising against one popular podcast with millions of listeners, this will ensure your message is heard more than once and will therefore increase the listener buy-in.

4. Advert type –  Ads can be delivered at the beginning, middle or end of a podcast or alternatively the podcast host can read the advert. Sponsorship is often available too for consistent messaging.

With so many podcasts available, and with so many listeners with buying potential, podcasts are a great addition to an advertising campaign, if you would like to learn more about how to advertise on a podcast that’s appropriate for your business please contact us.

Spotify updates podcast advertising capabilities

Spotify

As podcast listener numbers increase and the topics available on podcasts broaden, Spotify have launched a new feature to directly engage listeners with brands. CTA (call-to-action) cards.

The CTA cards will appear as a small, interactive button near the middle of the listeners device when a podcast is paused for an advert. The listener can touch the button which will redirect them to an advertisers website landing page. This process enables brands to provide more information about their products and services to the listener in just one step and to engage directly with them as an alternative to an audible 15-30 second advert.

CTA cards are also intended to make it easier for listeners to remember useful information from advertisers  such as a promotional code or URL that may have got easily forgotten in an audible advert.

Spotify has 28 million podcast listeners worldwide (2021) and is the number one podcast streaming service in the world,  followed by Apple Podcasts. It’s success is derived from the acquisition of Anchor, a digital platform which aids creators to produce and monetize original podcasts.

2021 saw Spotify’s ad revenue increase by 75% (Q3) due mainly to podcast streaming. It is estimated that podcast ad spend is set to double from $1.31 billion to $2.71 billion between 2021 & 2025 (Insider Intelligence data)

Ulta Beauty was one of the first companies to test the new CTA cards on Spotify. Advertising via podcasts, says Christine White, head of content at Ulta Beauty, is all about “finding the right connection points” — those moments where it’s possible to grab and hold listeners’ attention.

CTA podcast ads are currently only available in the US and through bookings with a minimum spend of 40K linked to it, but will be widely available after the Spring in the UK!

If you need help using audible streaming to market your business please contact us at [email protected]

How has the UK’s media consumption changed since lock-down began?

It’s been almost two months since our first blog about how the coronavirus has affected the UK advertising industry, so we thought it was a good moment to take a look at how things stand in May 2020.


Television

Across the major channels, television viewing has grown massively since lock-down was introduced in the UK. Sky viewing has increased by 24%, taking the average time spent watching TV per day to 3 hours 40 minutes, that’s an increase of 5 hours per week since lockdown began.

Younger audiences have seen the biggest increases in television viewing, 16-24 year olds were watching 57% more TV now than they were this time last year.

Unsurprisingly, as more of us are at home, daytime viewing has increased by 39%.

Viewers are tuning into the news and light entertainment more than any other genre. Gordon, Gino and Fred: American Road Trip concluded with 4.0m viewers, which was up 1.4 million viewers compared to the slot last year.

Video on Demand

ITV Hub has seen viewing hours increase by 82%, with catch-up viewing across drama up 26% year on year. Sky On Demand was also up by 52%.

Likewise, All 4 achieved its highest number of quarterly views ever across Q1 of 2020. This record breaking period includes All 4’s biggest ever month, week and day of viewing in March, with viewing up 37% year on year.

Video on demand platforms also remain popular with a younger audience, viewing was up 30% among 16-34 year olds, with almost 80% of all 16-34s registered with All 4 in the UK.

Radio

From our previous blogs it should come as no surprise that radio continues to perform well.

Commercial radio industry body Radiocentre found that 38% of commercial radio listeners are tuning in for an extra hour and 45 minutes each day, hitting an average of 26 hours a week compared with 14 hours a week prior.

Bauer’s radio network’s average reach also up a quarter and listening hours up by almost a fifth, as was Global’s.

Streaming

Streaming on platforms like Spotify have seen subscribers increase, in Q1 of 2020 Spotify saw a rise of 31% year on year.

While usage in cars, wearables (e.g. smart watches) and web platforms dropped last quarter, Spotify said that its TV and game console audience has grown in excess of 50% over the same period.

Outdoor and transport

Unsurprisingly, outdoor and transport advertising continue to see low levels of reach and footfall as people stay indoors and avoid public transport.

Looking to the future, it may take some time for reach and footfall figures to reach pre-lock-down levels as capacity restrictions are introduced and commuters are encouraged to cycle or walk to work.


Keep an eye on our blog and social media for more updates on the advertising sector.

If you need advice on planning future marketing campaigns, get in touch with our friendly team today at [email protected].

Tags: marketing, advertising, change, updates, advice, UK, United Kingdom advertising, industry, UK advertising industry, WARC, ITV, Sky, All 4, radio, Bauer, Global, Spotify, streaming.

5 Reasons Why You Should Advertise on Radio

Find out more about advertising on radio.

1. Radio is moving

In the past, you probably mostly listened to the radio in the car, or in your kitchen. But with the expansion of smart speakers like Alexa and Google Home, and radio apps, you can listen to radio anywhere. In fact, 50% of all radio listening hours are now through a digital device such as a smart speaker.

2. Online music streaming is becoming more popular

Music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music are increasing their reach, offering music on demand. These account for 8% of all audio listening, and 29% among 15-24 year olds. Advertising through an online platform such as Spotify is a great way to reach a younger audience, you adverts can reach them through mobile devices, tablets and desktop.

3. Podcasts are back

Podcasts are gaining in popularity as more content providers seek to offer bespoke content or repackage previously-broadcast content. By advertising via podcasts, you can target your advert to people who are interested in a particular topic, for example an advert for a gym would be played to people who listen to health podcasts.

4. Radio is resilient

Despite the increase in competition for audio time, radio continues to maintain its reach of nine in ten adults in the UK. Three-quarters of all audio listening is to live radio, and although this drops to 36% for 15-24 year-olds, it is still the audio source with the highest proportion of listening hours.

5. Get your advert listened to by the right people

We can help you ensure your advert is heard by the right audience. By planning the days, times and stations your advert is played on, we can limit wastage and increase cut through.

radio

Want to learn more about advertising on audio, see our blog ‘8 Reasons to Advertise on Audio.’

Is the concept of a sonic logo new?

Pandora became the first major audio streaming platform to adopt a sonic logo, or a tune it hopes consumers will associate with its brand wherever it’s heard. But is the idea of a sonic logo really such a new idea?

In the future, Pandora’s new logo may be played when someone opens the app, but for now, the logo only exists in their “Sound On” brand campaign, which debuted on Wednesday and includes musicians such as Jonas Brothers, Khalid and John Legend.

On first inspection, the idea of a sonic logo may seem quite innovative, but there are several iconic sonic logos that you may not have realised are considered sonic logos.

The drumroll played during the 20th Century Fox intro was created by composer Alfred Newman in 1933.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-jcVg32zPI

Walter Werzowa made Intel’s iconic “bong” anthem more than 20 years ago. 

Sonic logos are also used in the car industry. Here’s Audi’s…

And BMW’s…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PDwYRBfAc0
But what is the importance of a sonic logo, and why are companies developing them?

Brands are starting to pay attention to the proliferation of smart speakers, and the ability for consumers to identify a brand purely by sound. Companies must start thinking about how they are heard, not just seen.

“A brand identity is no longer dependent on look and feel alone,” says Lauren Nagel, VP and exec creative director at Pandora. “We are thinking about this beyond the Pandora platform; we want to be an agency to speak on the very source of sound.”

So while in the past sonic logos were a tag-on to the end of a television advert, we can expect brands to consider how they can be used as advertising platforms evolve.

Are you interested in advertising on smart speakers, VOD or television? Get in touch today.

Spotify explores new advertising opportunities

The average customer spends 25 hours a month streaming music on Spotify. Spanning 65 markets, Spotify’s audience has, to date, created two billion playlists from a library of more than 35 million songs.

Europe is the company’s largest market with 58 million monthly active users, accounting for 37% of its total audience. Spotify claimed a 42% share of the global streaming market in 2016, boasting a 95% share in Sweden, 59% in the UK and 41% in the US.

Creating 3D sound

Exploring the possibilities of extending its ad revenue, Spotify is working on different formats including podcast collaborations with publishers like Buzzfeed, sponsored playlists and skippable audio ads.

In March, Spotify released its first 3D audiovisual advert in partnership with Lionsgate UK for the release of the horror film, Ghost Stories. Audio from the trailer was repurposed to give a 3D audio effect, creating an immersive experience. The ad received click-through rates up 50% from benchmark level.

They also rolled out a self-service Ad Studio to the UK, this allows brands to create their own Spotify adverts. The advertiser can pick its audience based on age, gender, location, activity and musical taste, they can then select mobile, desktop or both, budget and dates.

This week, Google announced that DoubleClick Bid Manager, its demand-side platform, will now feature programmatic audio ads that can be placed on Spotify, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Pandora, and Google Play Music.

 

Are you interested in how Spotify could work for you? Give our team a call on 02921 320 200 or an email at [email protected].

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