One of the often-realized dreams of programmatic is the activation of true omnichannel buying. However, the unfortunate reality is that the strategic part of the conversation is focused on a single channel. As some DSP partners put it, 90% of the conversation with clients is about CTV, and the last 10% covers every other programmatic channel. CTV should be part of the media mix, but it should also work with and be supported by premium channels like audio that increase consumer reach and lift against core marketing KPIs.
CTV campaigns perform better with digital audio
While both CTV and digital audio are effective advertising channels, using both media in a campaign yields greater results, according to a recent study by SiriusXM and Nielsen. The study exposed 600 U.S. respondents ages 18 to 54 to media and advertising for a retail brand and a CPG brand in a realistic environment that aligned with their actual media behaviors.
The retail brand showed a 12% increase in aided recall and 14% increase in message association when consumers were exposed to CTV and digital audio ads in the campaign. And streaming audio drove a 13% increase in unaided recall over CTV for the retail brand and 6% increase over CTV for the CPG brand.
With results like these, it’s clear that programmatic buyers should be adding audio to their media mix. Audio is not only more cost efficient than CTV, but it’s also easier to activate with turnkey creative and consolidated audio marketplaces—and it increases reach, which improves bottom line results.
Digital audio is bigger than you think
The numbers don’t lie. There are 214 million U.S. digital audio listeners, and they spend nearly five hours a day listening to music, podcasts and live content.
As time spent with digital audio continues to increase, advertisers can reach consumers in an uncluttered ad environment. Digital audio has a lower ad load than linear TV, CTV and terrestrial radio. For example, Pandora plays just three minutes of ads per hour on average.
There’s plenty of space and opportunities for brands to flex their campaigns into the medium. Per a WARC study, 31% of consumer time spent is with digital audio, yet it only accounts for 9% of advertising spend. Adding programmatic audio to the media mix can help close this gap while tapping into a large, engaged audience.
Greater than the sum of their parts
If combining programmatic, audio and CTV were written as a basic math equation, it would be more like 1 + 1 + 1 = 9, with each element amplifying the effectiveness of the others. Reaching consumers through a variety of ad and media formats increases the impact of brand messages.
Humans react to messaging in different ways at different times, and combining these mediums creates a positive halo effect on consumers. For example, an auto brand can reach consumers with sleek visuals in a video ad as they’re watching a show in the evening. The brand can then reinforce awareness and move audiences into consideration with audio ads that highlight key attributes throughout the next day when screens are out of reach. This powerful combination helps consumers fall in love with the idea of driving that car.
Video and audio both have strengths in delivering a brand message and experience, and there are ways to help deliver them both—namely, private marketplaces (PMPs). DSPs are also updating their tech to help ensure audio is just as, if not more, addressable, measurable, transparent and premium as their CTV connections. This allows buyers to test dynamic and sequential creatives through vendors like A Million Ads to further personalize messaging and A/B test outcomes.
The task of making your strategy more omnichannel and multilayered may seem daunting, and CTV may seem like the lowest hanging fruit. But as marketers are challenged to make their media dollars stretch farther, using programmatic audio to amplify their campaigns is next on the agenda.
