The Transformation of Audio Ads

With the imminent growth of media channels in the world today, it is interesting how consumers keep finding ways to absorb new content to their queue instead of simply replacing them.

Surprisingly, more consumers are leaning to media in which they not only engage but also that adapts to their life. With many options for TV streaming services, on-demand shows, and live sports, younger generations seem to be open to channels the world used to be tuned to decades ago and today it looks more promising than ever.

Millennials and Gen-Zers enjoy the easily consumable nature of audio content, as well as its uncanny ability to resonate emotionally. In fact, according to Nielsen, podcasts and streaming radio are now one of the most influential channels in the US. This Nielsen study reports that podcasts and streaming radio listeners consume more than 10 hours of content each week. Moreover, they predict this amount to double by 2023, indicating that there is an inevitable transformation amidst in the audio space.

One of the most attractive aspects of podcasts and streaming radio is the ability to consume this content on the go. Beyond streaming content in their spare time, many of these listeners catch up on their favorites while exercising, commuting, and working- something that is not easy for other content formats to compete against. A possible interesting insight for advertisers to take note if is that, when listening at home, this modern consumer has a tendency to cast their content to smart speakers, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home devices.

It isn’t where you would necessarily go for scale; In fact, when it comes to podcasts and streaming radio, the more niche and contextual the targeting, the better. Why? Because this new audio space is all about engagement and self-identification (connecting content to the audience). Hispanics, which represents 11% of total listeners in the US (Approx 9M listeners), have a long list of options for this type of content. For example, "Latina to Latina", a podcast that talks about the embracement of latinidad and Latina achievements in today's climate, recently hit 100,000 episode downloads. Not an impressive number per se, but it actually represents an audience with shared affinities and feelings tuning in to the same piece of content.

Podcasts & streaming have evolved to be far more than entertainment. This year this kind of content has played an important role in delivering updates regarding the world’s health crisis due to COVID19 pandemic. Audio content from podcasts such as IDSA (Infectious Diseases Society of America) has been providing valuable information in regards to testing and self-diagnosis by educating listeners in how to identify key symptoms. Others, such as "The ISG Smartalks" podcast, discuss strategies for minimizing business disruption related to COVID-19 while giving recommendations to business owners across different industries.

When it comes to media consumption, nothing necessarily ends, some just transform. In this particular case, what we know is that radio ads are resurging in a new place. It is the same formula as always, simply within a different format with a new set of listeners.

by Andres Talavera, Conill, April 13