By: Alyssa Hamm
People are engaging with streaming audio and podcasts more than ever before. According to eMarketer, in 2022, listeners will spend 97 minutes per day with digital audio, which is 27 minutes more per day than the average user spends on social media. Additionally, almost 2/3 of the U.S. population will engage with streaming audio this year. The ears are there, and now is the time to engage with advertisers on the benefits and ease of running a streaming audio campaign.
When executing an audio ad, you will produce two types of ad units:
Audio Ads
- All sound, no visuals
- Typically, either 15 or 30 seconds long
Companion Ads
- Visual paired with audio ad
- Gives users a place to click to engage further with the brand/product
- Not guaranteed, delivered as inventory is available
Additionally, targeting has become easier and more robust with streaming audio. Audience segments and genre targeting make finding your audience with an audio ad campaign simpler than ever.
The most effective way to drive success for your advertiser is to discuss the goals and measurement of the campaign before it launches. Like video, audio is measured in completion rates. The goal is to ensure the user is listening to the advertiser’s full ad as a way of measuring engagement and increased awareness. Since most listening is done without a visual media, ad completion metrics are used to gauge success instead of relying on click or conversion-based data. Completion rate, total number of completed ads, and the cost per completed ad are the metrics from reporting that will help us most accurately tell the campaign success story.
One factor behind audio’s surging popularity: the pandemic. With rising cases and social distancing in full swing yet again, people are relying on music and podcasts to keep them going. A Spotify study found that 73% of Gen Z and Millennial Americans use audio to cope with stress and anxiety. Additionally, podcast listening has boomed since the start of the pandemic, and listeners’ podcast genre choice appear to reflect their attitudes towards the world around them. Spotify research shows users are focusing their podcast listening time on self-improvement (wellness and meditation) and finding joy with entertainment content (sports and comedy).
Podcasting inventory has grown tremendously over the past year, and you can easily access this inventory with Basis. Through the Basis DSP Private Deal library, you can access a variety of evergreen podcast deals. While there, you can also browse deals across a variety of partners, like Spotify, Audiology, Triton, TargetSpot and TuneIn. Audiology, for example, is a curated marketplace including the top 25 streaming services and terrestrial radio, covering more than 2,500 stations and 2,000 different podcasts. Media plans in the streaming audio space start with incorporating solid inventory from the private marketplace. The opportunities are vast and available to all of our Basis partners, including Cannabis.
The growth of streaming audio is undeniable, and the time to educate and talk to your clients about this advertising medium is now. For more information on advertising with streaming audio join us on Rev Up Revenue in March, download and share our new Audio Advertising Guide, and check out our audio resources on the Resource Library.