Audio Advertising is the New Kid in Full-Funnel Marketing Town
Full-funnel marketing is the practice of communicating with your target audience at each stage of the consumer journey with the intention of maximizing each brand interaction to move the consumer onto the next stage of the funnel.? Marketers generally approach this style of marketing by casting a large net at the top of the funnel to generate broad awareness and subsequently get narrower and more targeted with their communications as they close in on the prime prospects with the greatest propensity to convert.? Digital and social media wrote the book on this type of marketing.? By using the vast amount of consumer data available to target consumers and track their behaviors across publishers, platforms, and devices – full-funnel marketing could be achieved with impressive accuracy and efficiency.?
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But those were the golden days of digital and social marketing and for a number of reasons these channels now struggle to deliver the same results. ? A lot of the issues started emerging as consumer data privacy safeguards – both legal and technical – started becoming more ubiquitous. Consumers have more tools at their disposal than ever before to own their data and protect themselves from unwanted targeting.
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These privacy controls are having a significant impact on the topline revenues of the major media owners – including programmatic marketplaces, Meta, Google, TikTok, and Twitter.? As a result, marketers are now exploring widening their aperture of considered channels for full-funnel marketing and audio advertising is reaping the benefits.?
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I know, I know, audio advertising has been around since the Stone Age – how is it possible that this medium is better equipped than the channels that established the practice?? There are a number of unique reasons for this sudden surge in popularity.
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Podcast and Streaming Audio Listenership is Exploding
One of the most important considerations for selecting a channel mix to drive full-funnel marketing is whether or not you can achieve scale and cast a wide net.? Podcast and audio listenership has significantly benefited from shifting user behaviors as well as changes in media consumption brought about by the pandemic.? 73% of the U.S. population 12+ have listened to online audio in the last month and over one-third (104M) of Americans listen to podcasts regularly.*
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Programmatic Podcast Advertising is on the Rise
While activating programmatic audience-based buys on podcasts is still in nascent stages, huge strides have been made on both the buy and sell side.? Now brands will have the ability to target the same types of audiences through podcast advertising that they do through programmatic digital – with the same control using the same data signals.? Programmatic podcast buying is expected to grow from $117M in 2022 to $238M in 2024 - an increase of over 100%.** This incredible growth will continue to drive capability development and innovation in the space to further its full-funnel viability.
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Creator-based Marketing Facilitates Brand Discovery
Podcast hosts, YouTubers, and local DJs are some of the ultimate drivers of brand and product discovery for marketers.? In our current marketing landscape, creator-based marketing is becoming a table-stakes tactic for marketers looking to quickly and efficiently drive discovery and trial.?While some may say that “TikTok made me buy it”, audio creators are uniquely able to deliver long-form conversational narratives about product experiences.? They deliver these narratives with a high degree of credibility and inspire their audiences to try new things based solely on their personal testimonials.?72% of podcast listeners say they have considered a product after hearing a host discuss their experiences and 54% have gone to a physical store or location.***
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Screen Time has Acquired a Bad Rap
According to Time Magazine, “excessive screen time has been shown to have negative effects on children and adolescents. It's been linked to psychological problems, such as higher rates of depression and anxiety, as well as health issues like poor sleep and higher rates of obesity”.****?And for adults, it has been no picnic either – being linked to eye strain, disrupted sleep, and worsening mental health outcomes.?The absence of a screen required to accompany audio consumption is a huge selling point for advertisers who want to reach their target audience when they are in an open and positive state of mind.? Consumers are willing to spend longer amounts of time with audio content than ever before.
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If you are interested in learning more about how to leverage the full-funnel marketing capabilities of audio, please reach out to the team at Ad Results Media for a consultation.
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** eMarketer, May 2022
*** Super Listeners Report 2021