Post Conference Report

post conference report

DISCOVER NEW REVENUE OPPORTUNITIES AND OVERCOME CHALLENGES WITHIN AUDIO

Tuesday 15 October 2019 The Soho Hotel, London

#futureofaudio INTRODUCTION future of audio If I had to sum up in one word my thoughts on our inaugural Future of Audio event it would be wow. The energy in the auditorium at the Soho Hotel on October 15 was there in abundance as leaders in the audio space gathered to discuss just how exciting the audio landscape is right now.

We had grime music blasting out at 10am in the morning, a live demon- stration to create 64,000 different variations of the same advert in under 10 minutes, and a compos- er performing on stage to demon- they couldn’t believe that this was strate the power of sonic branding. the first time an event had brought all of these pieces of the audio What was once upon a time sim- puzzle together. You can rest as- ply just radio has now evolved into sured that next year not only will an explosion of opportunities for The Future of Audio be even bigger advertisers spanning digital radio, and better than it was this year, but streaming, podcasts and voice we’ll be running two versions of the - all reporting incredibly impres- event. Watch this space! sive numbers, reach and ROI. We packed 17 sessions into the day I am already looking forward to with 29 incredibly talented leaders what talking points we’ll bring to- from the audio world to celebrate gether in 2020, and after being and debate what is surely the hot- blown away by the sheer amount test topic in media right now. of opportunity we showcased last month, perhaps the question at the Feedback for the event was incred- top of next year’s agenda should ible with several delegates and be: Should advertisers be paying Steven Scaffardi speakers commenting to me that more for audio? Head of Events, Mediatel Events

SPOTIFY’S PLANS TO TAKE BAUER OUTLINES PLANS FOR WHY DIGITAL IS TRANSFORMING OWNERSHIP OF IN-CAR AUDIO RADIO’S INTERNET-ENABLED FUTURE THE AUDIO LANDSCAPE

With plans to launch curated driv- The radio market is set for a new sponsor content ing playlists and increase invest- period of growth as it embraces Ahead of the Future of Audio con- ment in podcasts, audio streaming online, the chief revenue officer of ference this week, Bauer Media’s Si- service Spotify has declared that it Bauer Media has said. mon Kilby places his bets on what is “absolutely focused” on growing will define the future of the medium. its share of in-car listening. Why digital is transforming the audio landscape Bauer Media’s Simon Kilby places his bets on what will define the future of the medium What’s next for audio? It’s a question we asked ourselves at Mediatel’s The Future of Audio where the brightest and best came together to discuss and deliberate the changing audio landscape as it continues to evolve and expand due to digital distribution.

The ways that audiences can now listen to audio are evolving and we have seen listening habits opening up new routes for advertisers to reach highly engaged audiences. A huge 66% of the population are listening to audio via a with the right message, delivering on cast advertising, ads are more welcome digitally connected device, throughout deeper engagement and greater effec- and effective: 78% of listeners actually the week and the latest WARC/AA tiveness. approve of podcast sponsorship. Expenditure Report saw online audio At Bauer, we’ve invested in this prom- We felt, earlier this year, the time was ad spend enjoy the biggest increase ising digital future which has paid right to relaunch Bauer InStream: of- across the industry - growing 26.5% dividends with standout digital per- fering advertisers creative and target- year-on-year. formances across our radio brands in ed digital audio advertising solutions in a complete brand safe environment The ways in which these audiences 2019. As our digital reach continues to within a network of trusted and influen- are being accessed by brands is also grow to over 14 million listeners, KISS- tial of Bauer-owned brands no longer evolving - programmatic audio in Eu- TORY is now the biggest digital radio accessible anywhere else, from much- rope has grown over the last three station in the UK with impressive de- buts seen from Country Hits Radio and loved brands such as Absolute Radio, years, accounting for more than 40% KISS, Scala and Magic Radio alongside of digital audio ad spend in markets Scala Radio this year - all fuelled by innovative launches reflecting the fastest audio products from iconic publishing like the UK and Germany and we know brands such as Empire and Grazia. marketers plan to spend more on pro- growing music genres in the UK. grammatic audio in next 18 months as This summer, we added to our grow- So where are we headed? The future it delivers on key marketing objectives ing inventory by adding 7 more radio certainly looks bright for audio as spanning engagement, effectiveness stations to our portfolio - accessed brands start to further understand the and brand safety (IAB and Xaxis). The exclusively on a connected device role that audio plays and in a space exponential growth digital audio is via a log in - and are steadily adding where visuals can’t reach. As an indus- seeing, in both uptake and technolog- to our podcast collection which now try, we’ve got to work together to test, ical advances, means it is an increas- includes: Q Presents: The Making Of, learn and to understand the possibil- ingly attractive and integral part of the The MOJO Innovators, Clyde 1 Super- ities audio presents. With scale set to media mix for brands and agencies. Scoreboard and the award-winning accelerate as connected cars enter the The Frank Skinner Show podcast. market and podcasts continue to de- The future certainly light and inspire, we have a responsibil- looks bright for audio These all offer audiences a more tai- ity to educate brands and agencies on as brands start to further lored listening experience evolving the power of sound to reach highly-en- understand the role that from some of the UK’s much loved gaged audiences powered by effective audio plays and in a space radio brands. We are allowing adver- use of data, sonic creative magic in where visuals can’t reach” tisers to complement their DAB adver- completely brand safe environments. tising to reach these highly engaged The opportunity for the industry is how audiences across the customer jour- we can now bring the benefits of radio ney where ever and however they may with digital’s offering to make it an in- be listening, opening further opportu- creasingly attractive part of the media nities around 1st party data. mix for brands. Digital audio advertising complements radio’s offering of Interaction with ads is changing too - trusted and brand-safe environment what we’ve long known about trusted for advertisers, delivering both long- host endorsement in radio is translating term brand building and short-term to a digital audio world where the listen- activation at scale, targeting audienc- ing experience is more engaging and Simon Kilby es at the right time, in the right place context is everything. In the case of pod- Chief Revenue Officer, Bauer Media The Future of Audio: an agency view The Future of Audio conference gave us a forum to learn about the new possibilities and challenges facing the market, writes MediaCom’s Mesha Williams

There’s no denying that the power of audio lies in its ability to be perva- sive. Audio is everywhere, and over the past couple of years we have witnessed an audio renaissance which has seen our ecosystem change. For a long time, the effectiveness of radio has dominated the agenda, but not all audio is radio. Digital audio provides an entirely new level of contextual relevance. Current trends indicate that digital audio consumption will reach 42% Voice activated devices have enabled for us to remember this as we con- by 2030 (Rajar and Bauer forecast). us to verbally express ourselves fast- tinue to evolve. For clarification, digital audio in this er and it is becoming a trusted source Creating a measurement tool like instance is audio streamed over the of information. Although we are learn- Barb’s Dovetail would enable us to internet to a connect device. ing how to capitalise on the rise of transform the way we plan and buy voice speakers, the data insights we There is no denying that stream- our audio campaigns. We would receive to be limited due Amazon and ing has become mainstream, with able to analyse our delivered reach Google reluctance to share. c.11hrs being consumed on aver- across audio and understand when, age per listener, and the latest fig- As the voice revolution continues where and how our audiences have ures show that Podcasts now reach into 2020, we should not let this lim- consumed radio and digital audio. 9.4m users weekly. Smart speakers it us from winning in this space as I have previously spoken about how ownership continues to increase pointed out by Kathryn Saxon and important it is for events such as The with 28% of adults now claim to Sarah Salter at The Future of Audio Future of Audio to exist and I contin- own a voice-activated speaker event. Voice features throughout ue to believe so. As the evolution which has helped to boost listening the purchase journey and conse- of connectivity moves away from hours online and via apps by nearly quently our clients must find their smartphones, it offers new opportu- 30% year on year. own brand voice within this space nities for audio, but with new oppor- and understand the best way to The increase of smart speakers tunities come new challenges. has been driven by the continue to communicate with our audience in increase due to the barrier to using order to succeed. The Future of Audio gave us a forum to learn from those developing the technology is low. It is these dig- As our ecosystem develops, meas- technology which would position ital moments which pave the way to urement must be at the heart of audio, as a contender, as well as the more meaningful opportunities for future developments. Earlier I men- power of voice. advertisers however we still face a tioned that although radio is audio, lot of challenges. not all audio is radio. It’s important It’s an exciting time for audio and I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Mesha Williams AV Associate Director, MediaCom OMD leads calls for multi-platform audio measurement

As the audio market grows to en- compass streaming platforms, podcasts and new tech, agencies are calling for the sector to build a new system to effectively measure it.

Currently there is only one third-party measurement system covering the audio market - RAJAR. It is a gold-standard Joint Industry Cur- rency that sits alongside other JICs such as TV’s BARB or published media’s PAMCo, both of which have evolved to cater for similar changes in their respective markets.

However, RAJAR currently only measures the traditional radio market and therefore excludes new platforms challenge from an agency and adver- some degree, we think that should such as Spotify, webcast-only stations, tiser perspective,” she said. be mimicked.” or any of the hundreds of podcast platforms or walled-garden services. Tom Coare, OMD’s head of audio, Meanwhile, Williams added: “We added that OMD, alongside other don’t expect doing any of this will Speaking at the Future of Audio, media agencies at the IAB audio be easy. But if print can do it, then Flora Williams, OMD’s connections steering group, was searching for so can audio. Now we need the in- planning business director, said “standardised data”. dustry to work together to create a agencies wanted to see a measure- consistent currency.” ment system that covered the mul- “RAJAR is a leading light in terms of ti-platform “blind spots” created by media measurement,” he said. “It’s Effective and trusted media meas- the explosion in new audio content. big data, it’s robust, it’s consistent urement is notoriously complex. In- and it’s the currency everyone has deed, the launch of PAMCo in 2018 “The market is becoming increas- accepted to trade on.” was a slow and expensive journey. ingly complex,” she said, noting that Amazon Music has just been intro- However, Coare said RAJAR was Meanwhile, BARB, which is under- duced via its smart-speaker devic- still limited in what it measures. going similar challenges to meas- es, and YouTube is capitalising on ure across different screens in the audio-only streams, amongst many “Print faced similar issues with TV market, spent the last four years other market changes. content moving from offline to on- developing a solution through Pro- line but was able to deliver a great ject Dovetail, with part of the service “For a consumer there are many more solution in PAMCo,” he said. “To only launching late last year. routes to content, but this presents a There is no reason why the audio market would not face similar issues.

“The digital audio market is in a very dynamic phase and we must be open to making sure that the measurement structures continue to adapt to reflect the changing needs of stakeholders,” Jerry Hill, RAJAR’s CEO, told Mediatel News.

“Creating a common digital audio currency and the funding mecha- “UKOM will welcome any opportu- nism to support this across a di- nity to explore working with other verse range of audio services and measurement bodies, like RAJAR, or formats has a lot of complexity that trading systems, like J-ET, perhaps shouldn’t be underestimated.” in the same way that PAMCO currently uses UKOM endorsed digital Mediatel News understands that data to produce robust cross-plat- Spotify has already explored meas- form measurement for the news urement via RAJAR, but concluded it and magazine industries.” was not a system that would currently benefit it, suggesting media-owner Meanwhile, Greg Grimmer, CEO of buy-in could prove problematic. Mediatel Group, commented: “OMD’s erudite point of view at the event is Similarly, the podcast market is domi- one we have heard from both agency nated by Apple, which shares no data and media owner stand points. with third parties. It is the tip of the iceberg in grappling with an increas- “As an ex-agency planner myself ingly fragmented audio market. I can appreciate the wish to have a single source point of reference However, radio broadcast frag- and as a major tech supplier to the mentation faced similar issues audio sector we will seek to deliver in the past, which is why J-ET, the this as soon as the market dictates industry-owned trading desk, was that it is needed.” launched almost 20 years ago to make radio easier to buy and sell and to increase share of spend.

Today, online measurement organisations such as UKOM are also waiting in the wings and have already expressed a desire to help with the challenge.

“UKOM’s RFP for its contract from 2021 onwards requires the supplier to develop a capability to measure cross-device online audio, both streamed and downloaded,” said David Pidgeon Ian Dowds, UKOM CEO. Editor, Mediatel News MARCO BERTOZZI: HOW SPOTIFY IS FUTURE-PROOFING ITS BUSINESS Marco Bertozzi, VP of EMEA sales at Spotify, in conversation with Mediatel CEO Greg Grimmer Spotify is investing in three distinct areas to ensure it remains a suc- cessful proposition as the audio marketplace evolves: content, discovery and access. Speaking at Mediatel’s Future of Audio this week, Spotify’s VP of EMEA sales, Marco Bertozzi, said investing in podcast content presents a “real opportunity” for the audio streaming service. “People are coming back, they’re making appointment to view, they’re listening the whole way through and they’re reacting when they hear from their favourite hosts,” Bertozzi said. “It’s an area we absolutely see “If you can own discovery then I think Spotify. I find myself saying that the as the future.” you can own the marketplace when next big thing for you as an advertis- it comes to what people listen to and er is to actually do something differ- Podcasts currently claim a 4% share how they listen,” he said. ent and embrace this audio space,” of all digital audio listening, rising to he said. 8% among 25-34 year olds, according Meanwhile, the final pillar to Spotify’s to Rajar’s MIDAS report for Q3 2019. strategy is to secure ubiquity of the “Where people have done it well, they service, so that consumers are able have won awards and cut through.” However, investing in podcasts to listen to on any platform, wherev- means more than the aggregation Bertozzi gave Mediacom’s award- er they are - whether that is through of podcasts created by third parties. winning Spotify campaign for Snick- speakers or in-car. The “real opportunity” for Spotify is ers as an example of how advertisers in the creation of its own content. Doing so means the platform can and agencies can work with audio in have ongoing conversations with its an effective and creative way, as well “We want to turn the primary focus users throughout the day, learning as MAC Cosmetic’s sponsorship of of what we do onto originals,” Ber- valuable information such as what The Receipts podcast - which is an tozzi said. content they’re listening to, what de- “interesting proposition” as it sees Earlier this year Spotify announced vice they’re listening on, and where. the luxury makeup brand depart the acquisition of two US-based com- That level of connectivity “cannot be from visual-focused ad campaigns. panies to expand its podcast capabil- underestimated,” Bertozzi said. “We just want to revolutionise how ities: podcast production company However, while music and podcast advertisers work with this medium,” Gimlet Media and creation and mon- engagement is high, audio remains Bertozzi said. etisation platform Anchor. The invest- under-utilised by brands when com- ment has already started to pay off “My message to advertisers is that pared to the visual marketplace. Not - between January and July, Spotify’s not all audio is radio. You’ve got a enough brands have guidelines for podcast users almost doubled. whole canvas and opportunity to do audio in place, and many are “playing different things, and you should be Furthermore, in its latest earnings re- around with it” rather than using it as a thinking about it.” port the streaming service claimed serious advertising medium, he said. to have seen “increased demand” According to its latest financial re- “[In advertising] your eyes are worth for podcast advertising following port, Spotify has 232 million global ten times more than your ears. That the acquisition, and said it expected monthly active users, 129 million can’t be right.” to see fast revenue growth from the of which use the free, ad-supported channel through the remainder of While Spotify hopes that heavily in- model. The service made revenues the year into 2020. vesting in all audio will help to close of $165m from advertising during that gap, Bertozzi also wants cre- the second quarter, up 34% year Spotify is also focused on optimis- atives and advertisers to think dif- -on- year. ing discovery personalisation, as ferently about the proposition the Bertozzi claims that consumers, es- streaming service offers. pecially of younger generations, are increasingly looking to discover and “I often get asked by advertisers Michaela Jefferson curate their own audio experiences. what the next shiny new thing is at Reporter, Mediatel News the audio blind spot There are new audio measurement challenges facing the industry, but OMD’s Flora Wil- liams says it could be solved through the development of an integrated tool

Sexy technology, huge innovation, high quality production and an abundance of creative talent means that audio is finally getting the cred- first party data, but only if they open it it rightly deserves. up the walled garden. Mike Williamson at Manning But before we get swept away with Voice activated devices are another Gottlieb OMD provides a case the next enticing audio opportunity, watch-out. So far they are owned by for J-ET to be the solution we need to future-proof the estab- Google and Amazon, meaning that lished audio landscape. audio sales houses do not have di- The current, and incredibly efficient, rect access to the data. reporting system for radio advertis- THe audio blind spots ing is J-ET. J-ET currently provides The foundation of audio is now a What’s the solution? centralised campaign data for anal- combination of traditional radio and We suggest learning from other me- ysis and reporting using a unique digital audio. In the last two years, dia and making the complex naviga- campaign identifier (JCN), as well increased revenue in audio has ble through standardised data which as extensive reporting functionality been significantly driven by digital; would mean that agencies can plan providing post campaign analysis by offering a complementary opportu- audio across traditional radio and spot, day, week, day part, reach, rat- nity to reach listeners in new places digital audio in detail for clients. ings and more by single or multiple rather than stealing listeners from The print market’s fraction of paper campaign/brand/client. traditional radio. and digital led to the same quanda- ry which in turn resulted in PAMCo This covers all Rajar measured audio However, digital audio still has two which is available across the indus- activity i.e. FM/AM and DAB (remem- blind spots which, now that the try, and used by people like me to ber that DAB is not an IP platform). products are established, it’s time educate and quantify print planning. Whilst DAB will remain the dominant to address. audio listening platform, digital audio This isn’t an overnight fix but - in Due to the exciting and varied for- (IP delivered audio across online and stead a long-term investment. To mats - from podcasts to music apps) will see the largest growth in bring together a planning tool for streaming - the pre-roll opportunities listening. audio across traditional radio and are varied and wide reaching - a great digital audio would fill the cracks in benefit of audio. However, these are Mediatel Group, which runs J-ET on the audio planning foundation. And behalf of the industry, has continual- all grouped into one phrase - digital I’m not saying it would be easy, but ly evolved the product and with the audio - which is misleading. it would certainly give agencies the enhanced technical capabilities that This therefore means that there ability to justify new innovations their new product JEX affords there are large inconsistencies when and take advantage of opportunities is an opportunity for J-ET to go deep- comparing metrics like content to that the future will no doubt bring. er into the collaborative audio arena ad ratio, share of break and listen to trade and report digital audio as- through rate. In podcasts, there are sets through J-ET too. many metrics which everyone from media owners to agencies can’t With all the main radio players (Glob- see and that’s because Apple still al, Bauer, Wireless) now set up with dominates the market with a 62% digital audio products, the first step may be for J-ET to report overall streaming share (down from 66% campaign delivery across tradition- this time last year, but still huge). al radio and digital audio on these 3 The market is also becoming in- main buying points. creasingly fragmented with over 698 podcasts (Acast, Sep 2019), This will put pressure on the new play- which means the data available is Flora Williams ers like Spotify and Acast to open their inconsistent. Spotify entering into Connections Planning data up to J-ET for total audio delivery. the market could help as they have Business Director, OMD UK have brands lost their voice in the age of audio tech? Sarah Salter, head of innovation at Wavemaker, shares four ways voice will transform marketing in 2020 Voice assistants have been a part of the global brand marketing discus- sion for years, but with user penetration in the UK alone reaching 20% in 2019, the buzz around smart speakers is growing ever louder.

Amazon might have blazed the trail with Alexa five years ago, but with the likes of Samsung, Facebook and even the BBC launching their own offerings, momentum is growing and, with that, competition.

It’s obvious why. After all, no other technology could enable brands to communicate so openly and fluently with consumers (to that end, the BBC it’s not so hard to believe. Pretty portunities and in-depth behaviour- has even engineered its offering to soon, our TVs, cars and even bath- al analysis. understand regional accents). And room mirrors will be able to interact in the era of ‘post-truth’, transparent with us via voice commands. Ama- Sound is, lest we forget, an incredibly and authentic brand communica- zon has even just launched ‘weara- powerful emotional trigger, particu- tion is vital for establishing a strong bles’ - voice assisted jewelry – to its larly when used in tandem with corre- brand-consumer relationship. voice-controlled Alexa collection. sponding visuals (as the success of Perhaps a sign of their move to elim- the Amazon Echo Show has proven). But there’s still a lot for brands to inate the smart phone – and a need It’s also been shown to elicit twice learn when it comes to capitalis- for brands to understand how best the emotional response of text. ing on the power of voice. Right to deliver their brand experience now, many are still confused about through ubiquitous voice platforms. To really understand how that con- where to go next, with some creat- nection can be maximised, it’s there- ing thousands of ‘skills’ that may In 2020 and beyond, brands poised fore vital brands learn when to “take address certain issues, but do not to make the most of the smart off their marketing hats” and think always have a connection to brand speaker revolution will be those that like human beings. After all, how identity or purpose. can capitalise on this two-way dia- can we expect our voice assistants logue as quickly and as cleverly as to act like us if the brands providing At Wavemaker, we’ve conducted possible. As a starting point, brands our content are not doing likewise? extensive analysis of the opportu- therefore need to get to grips with nities and implications voice holds the complexities of machine learn- UTLILTY OVER GIMMICKRY for brands. With that in mind, here ing so they can navigate the basics Ofcom research recently found that are the four biggest ways voice will of voice before we reach peak voice 62% of smart speaker owners use transform marketing in 2020. assistant saturation point. their device to stream music, 32% use it to listen to weather reports TALK TO ME tAKE IT PERSONALLY and 22% use it to listen to pod- The popularity of the #hashtag grew Alexa and Google can already ad- casts. Only 5%, meanwhile, use it out of a necessity for social media dress the household, but the smart to play games. Can you see a trend users to easily share content based speakers of the future will be able forming? People like voice assis- around keywords and phrases. But to address individual members of tants because they’re useful. as voice activation moves from early the family and hold distinct, simul- adoption to mass market, the hash- taneous conversations. In the era of With that in mind, moving forward tag will be superseded by something personalisation, this is an incredibly it will be vitally important that audio even more direct - the utterance. powerful concept for brands, ena- brands prioritise utility over gim- bling them to build profiles of indi- micks. The availability of celebrity When you picture the possible av- vidual consumers and utilise richly voices (Issa Rae and John Legend enues for incorporating voice tech, personal contextual marketing op- for Google and Samuel L. Jackson for Amazon) is a nifty distraction. which talks people through medical New opportunities, new sources However, it’s not going to change emergencies. of insight, new value, direct path how we interact with our devices - to purchase and innovation – this just what they sound like. sPEAK NOW OR FOREVER HOLD is what voice holds for the future of brands. So, in order to take ad- Voice - activated technology can YOUR PEACE vantage, it’s time to set your goals, open up incredible new routes for We are not quite ready (or able) to plan your strategy and get ready to helping people. But if brands want speak to our devices in the same speak up. people to take them seriously in this way we speak to each other, but in area, they need to think hard about the interim we will fill that void with integrating audio services into prod- a truly multi modal experience – in- ucts and services as a means for en- teracting with voice and screen. hancing lives through a truly useful eMarketer expects monthly smart brand experience. Some great exam- speaker users to rise to 12.6 mil- ples of this includes: WeWalk recent- lion this year and the adoption ly embedding Alexa in a smart cane speed of smart speakers has been for the blind; and PHE and Wavemak- unprecedented. At the same time, ers Start 4 Life BreastFeeding Friend we’re repeatedly hearing that peo- offering an unprecedented and easy- ple want to buy from brands when to-access support network for new they feel an emotional connection. mothers that could not have exist- So, as that reality is finally breached, ed on any other platform. My Carer, brands could be exposed to a treas- meanwhile, is a skill that helps those ure trove of voice-enabled insights Sarah Salter with Alzheimer’s maintain independ- if they are efficiently prepared. Head of Innovation, Wavemaker ence and Red Cross’s first aid skill

Mediatel are the audio experts operating at the centre of audio trading, distribution and analytic processing. Contact us for more information on J-ET, Audiotrack or our RAJAR data engine. NURTURING THE RENAISSANCE IN AUDIO ADVERTISING The industry needs to work together to convert the promises of online audio advertising into reality, writes IAB Europe’s Marie-Clare Puffett

The audio advertising market is en- joying a renaissance. The traditional FM/AM, analogue and DAB advertising market alone is now worth €6 billion in Europe, and these formats are being supplemented by a new range of digital audio options - from IP radio to music streaming services to podcasts.

The growth of these new audio services is exponential: there are now around 700,000 podcasts, compris- ing 29 million episodes, up 27 percent from last year. This explosion in content shows little sign of slow- ing; and new channels, such as connected cars and radio apps in smart 2. Control. Private marketplaces are However, until the barriers to un- speakers, will help increase the op- a common model for programmatic locking programmatic audio are portunities for advertisers to reach audio, giving sellers the necessary overcome, the audio advertising re- listeners. control they need. naissance will be stuck in first gear. 3. High share of voice. Most audio Some of the barriers are: As a result of new audio services, environments, particularly on mo- and the increase in opportunities bile devices, offer brands an unbeat- 1. Honing the data flow. At present, for such services to be consumed, able share of voice in a one-to-one programmatic affords only limit- IAB Europe has forecast that the audience setting. Ad loads in pod- ed return-path data, analytics and European digital audio advertising casts are low, and narrator-read ads measurement for audio content - market will grow to around €1.5 bil- generate additional connection be- particularly when it comes to pod- lion by 2023 - up from €471 million tween advertising and content. casts. It goes without saying that today. putting in place detailed data ana- 4. Data-driven creative. Audio pro- lytics is a critical factor for a strong vides huge opportunities for crea- programmatic market in audio. The foundations for a renaissance tive optimisation at low incremental However, audio advertising is still a cost of personalisation due to mod- 2. Sourcing a large audience. De- nascent market. The monetisation erate production costs and seam- spite the explosion of content, of the audio market has not kept less combination of audio elements there’s still a lack of scale. Audience pace with the growth in consump- from a ‘toolkit’ into a storyline. segmentation is already difficult tion of audio services, while chal- enough on audio, but it will be even lenges around measurement and Digital audio currently only ac- more challenging with narrow tar- attribution have limited its appeal to counts for around 3 percent of the geting through programmatic. advertisers. The industry needs to total display market excluding so- 3. Replacing real-time bidding for work together to convert the prom- cial, and the programmatic audio podcasts. The podcast market ises of audio advertising into reality. market is still too small to measure differentiates through native ads, with any degree of accuracy. But it where podcasts’ hosts read adver- The foundations are already in is early days and the foundations tisements on behalf of brands. This place - several core characteristics are strong. approach clashes with the type of make digital audio highly attractive real-time bidding in the display and for advertisers: Overcoming the barriers video world. Instead, what may be required is a different implementa- 1. Quality and trust. Audio offers to programmatic audio tion of programmatic, from guaran- premium inventory closely associ- For the audio market to fully real- teed deals over real-time auctioning, ated with the editorial content and ise its potential, scale is key. And but not real-time delivery, and wider high transparency of where the ad for that, there will need to be rap- automation, such as workflow auto- is shown. id growth in programmatic audio. mation. 4. Overcoming fragmented inven- The market heats up gether to define new measurement tory. Outside of major streaming While significant barriers remain to standards, puts in place the requi- platforms, inventory in audio is site pipes and data analytics tools, highly fragmented, as it is dispersed the realisation of the programmatic and finds a way of uniting fragment- among many local service providers audio market, and therefore scaling ed inventory while integrating audio - each with their own way of meas- the audio market as a whole, there with other programmatic channels. uring reach. Getting all the inventory are some indications that key indus- There’s much work to be done, but together and making it saleable is try players are beginning to make from the example of video stream- critical for long-term growth. moves on this front. Recent M&A ac- ing the industry has a good template tivity speaks to a heated market and 5. Integrating with other media. The for how to achieve these goals. The suggests that the audio advertising true power of audio is not as a stand- market is already heating up and market will reach maturity rapidly. alone channel, but as a part of an in- when end-to-end audio streaming tegrated advertising approach that giants start to breakdown the bar- To give just one example: Spotify, a includes other programmatic chan- riers currently holding the market streaming platform, has recently pur- nels, such as display and video. This back, the sky’s the limit. chased a podcast network (Gimlet), underscores a real need to get the creator tools for podcasters to build right professionals to manage the and monetise content (Anchor) and complexity that comes with adding a production agency (Parcast). audio into the advertising mix. 6. Creating the right metrics. For programmatic audio to be really tak- The renaissance requires work en up at scale, the industry needs to The boom in audio content, along identify and promote audio-specif- with the emergence of new technol- ic metrics such as ‘listen through ogies that will give people more time rates’ and ‘mute rates’ so buyers to engage with audio content, is a can truly understand the effective- huge opportunity for advertisers. ness of campaigns. This is an edu- However, the promised renaissance Marie-Clare Puffett cational process that will take some of the audio advertising market will Marketing and Business time to complete. only occur if the industry works to- Programmes Manager, IAB Europe

The radio market is set for a new period of growth as it embraces online, the chief revenue officer of Bauer Media has said.

Speaking at Mediatel’s Future of Au- dio (15 Oct), Simon Kilby outlined how the current boom in podcasting, DAB and the rise of online listening - matched with expected growth in connected cars, 5G, voice tech and smart speakers - was driving the market towards a new renaissance.

“The Internet does not break radio,” Kilby said. “It is a fantastic enabler. The more we can extend choice and push our content out on more platforms, whether that’s DAB or IP, it just extends listening and gives us Neither, he added, were new entrants tion to access. Five have been launch more opportunities.” such as Apple Music and Spotify, since August, with three on the Kiss Commercial radio is in its fifth con- which he viewed as “complementary brand and two on the Heat brand. to the ecosystem.” secutive year of growth and cap- “It’s an example of how we’re using tures 36m listeners each week in the Kilby added that the growth of online the Internet and user data to help UK. In 2018 it also reached record listening meant the sector was on produce the content users really revenues of £700m, and Kilby ex- course to reach an “inflection point” want. It’s providing feedback, and we pects that to be beaten this year. His in 2024 when IP is likely to overtake can also use this to boost our adver- long-term plan is to see radio eat into traditional analogue. tising proposition.” online adspend more generally and reach £1bn. “That means we have to ask some Despite the good news for the sector, fundamental questions,” he said. some threats still lurk on the horizon. “How big can we make it? How can “Questions around measurement; we move into the digital space and how we buy and sell; about our trad- The penetration of smart speakers sell digital-audio? That is ultimate- ing model, and how we produce and into UK homes is currently helping ly what we’re looking to do over the market our content. deliver growth for radio, but the two next two years.” biggest owners of the tech - Amazon “It’s a huge opportunity for radio, agen- The last four years has witnessed and Google - could seek control later cies and brands. But we must each down the line. a 23% increase in audio hours con- grasp the consequences now and sumed in the UK, according to figures make the most of our digital future.” from Rajar. Kilby said this was further Some experts Mediatel News spoke evidence that the Internet was not Bauer said it had been fully commit- with suggest US tech giants might negatively disrupting the sector. ted to digital for years, but was now turn into “gatekeepers” for UK radio accelerating efforts as it took re- content, ushering in a new wave of gional radio brands national. It was competition. also looking to extend reach further through sub-brands of existing radio stations, largely via webcasts.

“Webcasts are new growth area for our business, they’re becoming much more important,” he said. “We’ve had 400,000 new registrations in two months.” The webcasts are entirely online and David Pidgeon require a GDPR-compliant registra- Editor, Mediatel News SPOTIFY’S PLANS TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF IN-CAR AUDIO Spotify’s Marco Bertozzi in conversation with Mediatel CEO Greg Grimmer

With plans to launch curated driving playlists and increase investment in podcasts, audio streaming service Spotify has declared that it is “absolutely focused” on growing its share of in-car listening.

Currently, live radio is the most common type of in-car audio consumption via both FM/AM and DAB radio sets. According to Ofcom’s Media Nations 2019 report, only 8% of those surveyed said they listened to music via a streaming service while driving, and just 4% listened to podcasts.

However, the ability to stream music or audio via a phone is now one of the most common connected car technologies available, which Spoti- fy’s VP of EMEA sales, Marco Bertoz- launched in the UK, can be found in- Mediatel are the audio ex- zi, sees as an opportunity for growth. app if searched for. perts operating at the centre of audio trading, distribution Podcasts can be as short as a few “With hundreds of millions of con- and analytic processing. nected cars over the next couple of minutes long, Bertozzi said, adding Contact us for more infor- years, [in-car audio] is a space that that Spotify is planning to increase its we are absolutely focused on,” he investment in original podcast con- mation on J-ET, Audiotrack said at Mediatel’s Future of Audio tent produced via the Spotify Studio. or our RAJAR data engine. conference this week. “Your Daily Drive is where we’re try- Listeners are increasingly keen ing to bring the podcasting and mu- to “start their own radio show” by sic experience together,” he said. choosing their own audio content, “That is something we will continue Bertozzi claimed - a trend he said to lean into.” he expected to grow as voice assistants are introduced into connected Bertozzi added that by focusing its cars, enabling drivers to select con- attention on the in-car listening ex- tent hands-free. perience, Spotify is offering advertisers an alternative to radio and However, he admitted that the com- outdoor when trying to reach con- bination of “spoken word” content sumers on their commutes. and music offered by live radio is an important part of the in-car listening “Now we’re going to advertisers and experience, and is a gap which Spo- saying: ‘We know they’re in the car, tify is trying to fill with podcasts. the signal is telling us they are, and they’re listening.’ Earlier this year, the audio streaming service launched Your Daily Drive in “So you can with certainty advertise the US - a daily, personalised playlist into that environment and know you’ll for users which combines podcast reach them in the moment you want.” and music content based on each user’s listening habits. The feature also launched in Germany earlier Michaela Jefferson this month and, though not officially Reporter, Mediatel News WHAT WAS SAID

quotes WHAT WAS SAID Max de lucia Director, dlmdd Exciting, vibrant and deeply exploratory adventure into the Future of Audio. The day was not only a great opportunity to join the dots between like minded people, it introduced the audience to new ideas and ways of thinking which everyone will no doubt take out into the marketplace and wider world

VICKY FOSTER Commercial Director, Bauer Media The Future of Audio event certainly captured how audio is really adapting & innovating, with the breadth of organisations involved and the level of attendees (standing room only), really demonstrated that audio is flourishing on so many levels!

mike wood UK Insight Manager, Acast It was an excellent event and really informative. I’ve attended quite a few similar events in the past and there can be a tendency for them to cover the same ground as one another or have some very dry content, but this one had a great variety and felt nice and snappy without any presentations feeling like they’d dragged on too long. I’m also judging it on the fact that I probably took more notes at this conference than any other one I’ve been to!

Amy kean Head of strategic innovation AND starcom global clients, starcom Slick, punchy and innovative, the Future of Audio event really stood out for me as a best-in-class show - I was leaning forward the whole way through! It was a great mix of fact and opinion, and I learned a lot. Will definitely go next year

Helen mussard Marketing & Business Strategy Director, IAB Europe The event was a great blend of market insights and trends but most importantly, we got a real opportunity to hear from the people who are driving this new innovative market forward. From the people creating brand sonics to the agency planners, publishers and advertiser buyers, we got to see what was working, what were the challenges and how we could scale audio to be a real opportunity for all industry stakeholders. IAB Europe was proud to partner to further drive awareness and share industry trends and best practices

nick sami Director, Data Intelligence & Visualisation, EMEA & APAC, OMG A really informative conference which really opened my eyes to the innovation happening in the audio arena - tech, creative and strategy. A thoroughly educational event #futureofaudio Stephen jenkins @lopsidedstephen

Straw poll at #FutureofAudio suggests ad buying within podcasts is largely coming from the Broadcast agency teams (& a bit from partnerships). Even though, as @RuthFitzsimons from @PodFront points out, 30% of podcasts are listened to out of home.

RICHARd MARKS @RICHARDMLIVE

Spotify’s Marco Bertozzi points out that advertisers currently value what we see at ten times what we hear “..and that can’t be right” Hard to disagree @MediatelNews #futureofaudio

Clare MILNER @MILNERANDBOWEN

Steve Keller of Pandora quoted at MediaTel #futureofaudio - “with creative, leave room for discovery, don’t science the sh*t out of it.” I look forward to presenting (with just a bit of science) this pm

SARAH SALTER @sARAHSALTS

A lively audience #futureofaudio event this morning with @WavemakerUK @KathrynSaxon talking about how and why brands need to be thinking about #voiceassistants. Thanks for having us @MediatelNews next up one of my favourite startups @amillionads #futuremakers

KEITH CRANE @_KEITHCRANE

Brilliant session from Flora Williams and Tom Coare from @OMD_UK - majoring in challenges created by linear/dynamic audio talking in different languages. Solution seems sensible. The challenge is doing it in a way that works for owner & agency (and client!) #futureofaudio

luke taplin-mccallum

Big up everyone who spoke at the #FutureOfAudio event today. Big up Silke Zetzsche and Simon Palframan for LIVE building a 34,000 variant dynamic audio campaign for DfT in about 10 mins and big up The Soho Hotel WiFi for making it all happen FIVE GOLDEN RULES FOR AUDIO BRANDING what should a brand sound like? The popularity and growth of the audio medium was marked this week at Mediatel’s London conference ‘The Future of Audio’. It was the first of what Mediatel promises will be an annual event and it sold out within days.

A full day of sessions by leading industry figures provided a fas- cinating insight into how media owners, agencies and brands are navigating the many facets ‘Live’ Sonic Identity Five golden rules to define best of an increasingly diverse audio practice in designing and applying landscape, and how they see the With the help of one of Trisonic’s audio branding: future of the medium. composers, Matt created a sonic identity ‘live’ in front of the au- One of the sessions was present- dience. He demonstrated how a 01 ed by Trisonic Co-founder and simple ‘earworm’ or sonic logo Creative Director Matt Hopper. can change its character to suit THINK LONG TERM different brands by a change of In ‘What Should a Brand Sound tempo, mood and instrumenta- Audio branding strate- Like’ Matt looked at how audio tion. And developed the sonic gies should span five or branding has changed over the logo into a theme which formed ten years - this is vital years and how, in order to ful- the basis of a whole toolbox of to build familiarity and ly embrace and make the most tracks and elements for use ‘brand fame’. of the new audio age, brands across the audio spectrum, from need to apply their sonic identity radio advertising, to on-hold across multiple touchpoints and messaging, to ambient point of adapt it accordingly. sale audio and in-app sound. 02 BE CONSISTENT

Radiocentre and Ebquity’s 2018 ‘Re-evaluating Media’ study showed that consistent application of sonic properties across multiple media increases ROI by up to 400%. So to maximise results, just as you would your visual branding, apply your audio branding to strict guidelines and at every possible consumer touchpoint. Radiocentre research proves that and competitor brands – hear 03 unique sonic properties are direct- what they’re doing. We may test ly related to the ‘fame’ of the brand. branding options against each ADAPT other, and against competitors in If all that sounds complicated, it THE TRISONIC LABTM. We look What sounds right on need not be. Matt showed how at where the track is going to be traditional radio won’t with careful planning at inception, used and how, and start to build the brand theme can be remixed necessarily work in other that toolbox of music that the and edited to create everything a brand can use in different ways. environments. You’re brand needs to adapt to various catching consumers in platforms and start the evolu- different situations and tionary process. moods and you’ll need audio to match. Once convinced that your brand needs an audio identity, where do you begin? What should a brand sound like? At Trisonic, we start 04 with a close look at the brand, its culture, its history, its perception, Matt Hopper EVOLVE its target audience and its aspira- Co-founder and Creative Director, tions. We research the audience Trisonic McDonalds have used the ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ sonic for over 15 years, but they’ve rear- ranged it several times to keep it fresh. You need to do the same.

05 BE UNIQUE

Radiocentre research proves that unique sonic properties are directly related to the ‘fame’ of the brand. OUR EVENT SPONSORS HEADLINE PARTNER

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