Content, context and interest are equally important to connect with audio audiences. That’s a key finding from Sound Affects 4, the latest in a biennial research series produced by Dentsu, in association with radio group Onic.
The study looks at connection and how to establish it, surveying people’s behaviour around audio, “to see how they listen, when they listen, and what they’re doing before, during and after listening,” says Zsófi Tóth, Dentsu’s research and insights director.
The study, which charts the listening habits of 1,750 people, is designed to catch early indicators of change and emerging trends, to better predict the future, explains Dael Wood, Dentsu’s strategic consulting director.
One of the ways it explores behaviour is to divide the day into six parts, to see what types of audio participants chose. It also assesses their mood, before during and after listening.
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“We saw how people build their audio listening around their daily routines,” says Tóth. “In the morning people don’t just use audio like you might think – [such as] putting the radio on for news. Actually people use it in a much deeper way, using morning time audio for awakening, whether that is your alarm being your radio, or going to the gym really early in the morning and using music to get yourself up and about.”
In the afternoons people use it for a boost, to revive their energy or get their focus back. At the end of the day people use audio for a sense of personal time.
“Whether that’s going for a walk by yourself while listening to your favourite podcast, putting on some music while you’re cleaning up after the family meal, or putting on something to meditate with as you’re going to sleep, you have all of these routines with audio built around them,” she says.
While a TV advertising is relatively fixed – not least because it is costly – radio advertising can more easily tap into this wide variety of moods. Yet despite the fact that audio accounts for nearly a fifth of our time spent consuming media, it takes only half that in terms of media investment.
Another trends the study highlights is the shift in what was traditionally radio’s premium evening drive time slot, another fact with implications for media buyers. While morning listening behaviour has largely landed back to where it was before the pandemic, says Wood, “in the afternoon, we aren’t seeing that same condensed commute. It has elongated.”
It’s not just hybrid working, it’s that the working day has changed, with a rise in 7am to 3pm, or 8am to 4pm days, as well as the traditional 9am to 5pm.
“When we leave the office and return home has changed significantly. From even as early as 1pm to around 6pm there is this elongated lift in audio while commuting,” says Wood. “That flexibility opens up a whole new space of opportunity in terms of being able to connect with consumers within that time. It’s exciting.”
The research also picks up changes in what we listen to while commuting, with podcasts having significantly increased in popularity.
‘We know that 71 per cent of people are now listening to some type of audio throughout menial tasks, whether washing dishes or doing laundry’
“Not only do we have different routines now but we also have so many other options of audio types to listen to. It’s not just radio or podcasting but music and streamed music and audio books,” says Tóth. “People are a lot more actively choosing what they listen to, when they listen and where they listen.”
The importance of storytelling unites all of them.
“Quantitively speaking, four of the five top statements within ‘what makes people feel truly connected to audio’ was storytelling; and when we asked them how they feel connected to advertising, storytelling was really strong there too,” says Tóth
The study also found that people are increasingly embedding audio into all aspects of their home life.
“We know that 71 per cent of people are now listening to some type of audio throughout menial tasks, whether washing dishes or doing laundry,” she adds. “Again, you’re not just listening to radio in the car now, it’s when you’re doing any sort of task.”
To connect with these listeners, audio advertisers need to ensure content, context and interest are all present and correct.
“You need what we’ve defined as interest; it’s got to be relevant to me,” says Wood. “You need contextuality; the information has got to fit because the context in which we hear the audio makes a huge difference to whether or not we connect with it. And lastly, you need good content.”
The big takeaway for the industry is not to spend a disproportionate amount of time on crafting “the perfect ad”, she adds. After all, no matter how good it is, it only accounts for 33 per cent of ad effectiveness.
Understanding where your audio is going to appear, and how to talk to people who have an inherent interest in what you are going to say, is every bit as important.
It’s why reliance on programmatic advertising, which enables you to “buy the person wherever they show”, is a mistake that Dave Winterlich, chief strategy officer at Dentsu, likens to a salesperson leaving their shop to follow you around the shopping centre.
Wood agrees: “I think we lost our way a little bit with performance marketing, where we have this ability to chase people around wherever they are. That’s not appropriate.”
On the other hand, her research shows that, where audiences do connect with your ad, it has a direct impact on purchasing. Getting to that point, of course, is hard work.
“It takes longer because you’ve got to get everything lined up,” Wood says. “You’ve got to get your targeting, you’ve got to do your audience design and you’ve got to get the context and content right.” But, she adds, once you do that, the ensuing connection will pay you back every single time.
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