Audio in Advertising: The Sound of Thought and Emotion – Part 2
In addition to radio, we now also have a variety of exciting audio channels that are becoming intrinsic parts of our daily experience.
While book sales are in decline (falling 10.3% in 2016), audiobooks are the fastest growing publishing format in the world. This form of entertainment has managed to fit into people’s busy lives, growing about 40% per year. People are not only increasingly considering audiobooks as a mean of entertainment, but consumers are listening to 6.7 audiobooks per year (a 0.9 increase from the previous year).
Podcasts are also growing in popularity, and its current positive impact on consumer purchase intent is something to keep in mind. It is not only meaningful that about 95% of podcast listeners take some sort of action after listening to a podcast, but what is most astonishing, is that about 65% of these listeners are more willing to purchase a product being advertised in a podcast.
Brands should also consider the degree of awareness that podcasts actually generate, as 45% of listeners actually visit a brand’s website after hearing about it in the podcast. As mobile devices become more user friendly and a larger number of podcast listeners do so through a mobile device, more and more people are making purchases from their cell phones – another key factor why brands should consider podcasts as a mean of advertisement and sales.
At BBR, we’re very enthusiastic about audio mediums. You can truly infiltrate the mind with voice, music and sound. You can stir emotions or plant seeds, in ways that purely visual mediums may not have the chance to.
And the very circumstances in which audio mediums enjoy the greatest usage (in your car as you’re stuck in traffic, on your train ride to work as you have time to reflect, laying in your bed at night listening to an audio book) are opportunities to have a deeper conversation with the listener.
– By Wahn Yoon and Giovanni Gerbolini