The big opportunity for advertisers with digital audio
This week I spoke at Radiocentre’s Tuning In: See Radio Differently event in Manchester. This year has been significant for DAX. We’ve been working hard on some major new innovations to evolve the digital audio exchange we created in 2014 so it was a good opportunity to share it all with a room packed with advertisers and agencies from the region.
Digital audio - Radiocentre feature
In October we launched Listener ID. This allows advertisers to measure and track the impact of their advertising in a way that’s never been done before. This is the first time anyone has attempted to use such tags at this scale in digital audio advertising so that’s been something our clients have welcomed with open arms.
We’re also creating more audio ads in 3D using Binaural Sound Recording technology which recreates audio the way we naturally hear it offering a truly immersive experience. We like to think of 3D audio as the audio equivalent of virtual reality but in this case with scale because all someone needs to listen to 3D audio is a pair of headphones. One of these campaigns has been with Unilever, helping Dove in their campaign to support the Be Real Body Image Pledge. Our role was to add emotive, sensory depth to Dove’s digital audio output using our 3D audio techniques.
Another focus for DAX this year has been dynamic, personalised ads and geo-targeting. These are two new ways brands can use audio to reach consumers on mobile devices.
Audio ads for mobile can now be adapted in real-time based on user behaviour. This allows us to personalise ads using listeners’ data and tailor elements of audio ads. We can work with retailers to serve ads focusing on products we know are most likely to interest the consumer. After extensive testing we are expecting a rapid uptake in 2017 with campaigns running before the end of the year.
There is also a big opportunity for advertisers to use DAX which are integrated with out of home ads. With geo-targeted ads, DAX can serve listeners ads in specific locations. Its versatility means listeners can be reached in a number of ways. Through DAX, we can serve listeners ads within a certain radius of a specific location for example a shop or a billboard. When someone passes the chosen out of home site, a trigger can be made which serves mobile listeners an accompanying ad. These developments have brought audio ads up to speed with capabilities we’ve previously seen in digital display and video.
Another significant development this year has been the partnerships with other publishers which have enabled us to offer clients even better targeting. Haymarket now shares its automotive data with us strengthening our offer for automotive brands and car insurers. Audi was the first brand to make use of the data and we’re now working with a host of other car brands that want to tap into unique audience behaviour and intent data from Autocar, What Car? and PistonHeads which reach almost every car buyer in the UK. Haymarket has the strongest bank of intent data in the market and DAX is the first ever media platform to be given access to its data. Next year DAX will be teaming up with Dennis Publishing to create an ‘affluencer segment’ which is effectively the overlap between The Week and audio publishers in DAX with an affluent audience. We are also looking at partnerships with publishers that specialise in technology, gaming and fitness.
After a very productive year I’m looking forward to seeing what new developments we’ll bring to market in 2017 – we’re already in conversation with some fantastic brands.
Ryan Rummery was speaking at Radiocentre’s Tuning In: See Radio Differently event in Manchester. He is the head of digital sales and DAX at Global