Audio is booming as consumers shift from owned music to streamed, from radio to podcasts, and to listening when, where, and how they want. Soon digital will surpass broadcast as an audio consumption channel. It already provides hundreds of billions of streams.
With the boom in digital audio, advertisers are gaining unique chances to reach — and engage — some of their most desirable consumers. Platforms are launching ad-supported audio channels, competing for both users’ attention and media budgets. The introduction of programmatic advertising to audio has facilitated the capability to automatically insert ads. Targeting and measurement offer unique ways to segment, customize, automate, and attribute audio messaging as part of a larger media mix.
Audio programming can draw listeners in, create a sense of intimacy, and form a literal touchpoint into ears. It can stir emotions, inspire laughter and foot-tapping, even a dance. It is a way consumers educate themselves, find out the news, hear from celebrities and politicians, express social preferences, and indicate moods, tastes, and even generational status.
Excited by the opportunities, advertisers plan to increase their spend in audio this year and beyond. They are able to combine the best of what audio can give — deeply engaged consumers listening to favorite music and programming — along with the targeting and data that digital and programmatic afford. For advertisers, digital audio presents a chance to maximize the power of ad budgets and optimize with targeted reach as never before.
