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 au- dio 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 lis- ten 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 in- novative 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 advertis- ing 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 effec- tiveness 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.