Author: Jateen Parekh, CTO and Co-Founder, Jelli.
Digital has transformed advertising in the last few years but audio as a medium has been left behind. Jateen Parekh, the CTO and co-founder at Jelli, shared his thoughts on the matter in an Adweek article entitled “Brands Need to Join the 21st Century and Tap Into Radio Advertising.”
In his piece, Jateen points to the fact that radio is a massive market – bigger than TV – that marketers have largely ignored, primarily because of the medium’s particular challenges.
“Until recently, the audio landscape has been riddled with blind spots and the purchasing process has been cumbersome, but that’s no longer an excuse,” he says. “Things have changed dramatically with the advent of technologies that help advertisers reach the right audiences and provide advertisers full insight and control into how their campaigns are performing.”
He then delves into ways marketers can pump up the volume on their audio strategy.
Connect with the Right Audience
Know your audience. Are they male or female? How old are they? What are their listening habits? Do they have lifestyle preferences? Today, you have the ability to get specific when it comes to audience targeting. It can be as granular as people who have recently moved or organic moms.
“You should also feel confident that you are choosing the right time of day to reach the intended audience, the right stations, markets, etc.,” says Jateen. “There is a slew of technologies out there that can help in this phase.”
Monitor your Ad Play
Visibility into when and where your ads play allows you to monitor campaign success and know how well your creative is performing.
“In the age of brand safety concerns, this is an important factor to consider,” explains Jateen. “Whether it’s finding your family-friendly brand appearing next to controversial content or discovering that your ad promoting a new television premiere airs after the show began, your reputation is at risk.”
Real-time insights provide advertisers with transparency and actionable analytics. This allows you to monitor true campaign success and improve future ad strategies.
Improve your Campaign Creative
Audio creative is unique because there are no visuals, which means your creative must be clear, concise, and engaging.
“The first rule is don’t be boring,” says Jateen. “Tone is everything. Keep in mind that audio elicits an emotional response—positive and negative feelings—which makes it both powerful and challenging. Knowing your audience is important here. For example, you don’t want to feature a bombastic ad for a local car dealer on the classical music station. That would just be off.”
Second, try not to say too much. There are industry standards for increased audio ad effectiveness, but many brands struggle to find a good balance. Keep in mind that a 15-second to 30-second ad is great if you want to deliver a simple message, but you might need 60-seconds if you’re sharing a more detailed message.
Finally, include a compelling call-to-action. Identify your goals and offer something compelling.
“Is the goal to get customers to the nearest exit and head for your store?” asks Jateen. “Then offer a compelling promotion. Is the point to get people to buy your book? Then tell a story and create intrigue, but don’t reveal too much. You get the point.”
The importance of audio advertising is growing quickly as we embrace more screenless technology. It’s time to evaluate your radio strategy and connect with your audience in new ways. Don’t wait to turn up your audio strategy!