What Is Programmatic Audio and How Does this Type of Targeting Work?

It’s no secret that as more people shift to digital, on-demand sources to consume media, targeting them with advertising has become more challenging. After all, if your regular customers are spending more time on Spotify and podcasts than on their usual radio station, how can you be sure your marketing is reaching them? Programmatic audio exists to bridge this gap. It allows for targeted advertising to reach customers exactly where they are—on digital media platforms like Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and more. Here is how you can use programmatic audio to reach your market and put enhanced targeting methods to work for you.

The Basics of Programmatic Audio

Programmatic audio uses an automated process that allows you to purchase and insert advertising on digital platforms, including podcasts and streaming services. Ads are played for select consumers listening to their chosen entertainment programming on their preferred platforms, so the ads feel more personal and relevant to listeners than advertisements played on mass-media platforms. Programmatic audio ads can be played before content rolls or in the middle of the content. These audio ads are sometimes accompanied by visual components, such as a banner ad that pops up when the audio plays.

Because the process of purchasing programmatic audio advertising is fully automated, it is typically a faster and more streamlined procedure than typical audio ad purchases. Ads that require manual insertion take much longer to premier, which can slow down your marketing timeline.

Targeting Consumers Through Programmatic Audio

Targeting customers through programmatic audio works in much the same way traditional audio and video advertising works, but you can work across multiple platforms at the same time. You can consider factors like location and language, along with your usual demographic targets for age, gender, income, and so on. You can also determine the best placement for your programmatic audio ads by considering the genre of music people are listening to and the mood of their music or podcast choices.

Rather than limiting yourself to advertising on a few different platforms, programmatic advertising lets you target as many digital platforms as you want at the same time. This reduces the need to come up with different strategies for the various platforms and running individual campaigns in silos. Instead, you can make highly targeted placements across platforms for a comprehensive campaign that reaches your customers where they are.

Programmatic audio ads also give you the chance to collect large amounts of data about your market. Use this information to make your targeting even more effective when you purchase programmatic audio advertising.

Why Programmatic Audio Matters

To stay relevant to your customers, programmatic audio should be part of your marketing plan. Hundreds of millions of people listen to digital audio content each month, so there is a good chance that your market is there. Furthermore, virtually every age demographic report feeling screen fatigue and dealing with too much visual stimulation. People are becoming conditioned to avoiding and ignoring visual advertising that interferes with their enjoyment of the favorite media platforms.

Audio advertising is different. There is no need to look at a screen to engage with the advertising, and the message is reaching listeners when they are likely to be relaxed and open to listening. Research supports the idea that audio advertising engages consumers more effectively than visual ads. According to Nielsen, audio advertising increases the likelihood of making a purchase about two times more than visual advertising. Additionally, Midroll Media found that approximately 60% of podcast listeners have made a purchase after hearing about a product on a podcast.

Consumers are open to audio advertising, and they are more receptive to it than they are to visual ads, which have become ubiquitous and obtrusive. Communicating your messaging in the manner in which your market wants to receive it simply makes sense when it comes to facilitating a better return on your marketing efforts.

Keeping Consumers Engaged with Your Advertising

For visual advertising—including static images and video—one of the biggest challenges is keeping consumers engaged with the ad. Skipping or dismissing the ads is relatively easy, and many consumers are so desensitized to these kinds of ads that they are more likely to be looking for the little X to dismiss the ad than they are to the messaging.

Audio advertising is not as easy to skip. This means that customers will likely hear enough of your ad to become interested in it, rather than just wait for an opportunity to dismiss the ad. Because your programmatic audio ads can be placed at different points in streamed media, you can catch consumers at the start of their podcast or have an ad come in the middle of the podcast or playlist. In either instance, because the listener wants to continue to their programming, they’re more likely to pay attention to your ad.

Additionally, audio advertising lessens the need to depend on cookies. This helps advertisers and publishers adhere to data collection regulations more easily than with other kinds of advertising.

At Salem Surround, we can help you be where your customers are, surrounding them with your messaging. When potential and existing customers encounter your brand more often, they’re more likely to think of you when they need the products and services you sell. Our strategists know how to leverage the very latest tools in the rapidly evolving digital marketplace and can help you find your market. Contact us today to find out how our digital marketing team can help you build your brand.

 
Smiling people participate in a standup meeting in an open office
A woman makes a purchase on her laptop

Learn more or receive a free digital presence evaluation. Contact us today.