Once upon a time, not so long ago [the early 1990’s], you had a pretty limited choice of radio to listen to. 5 x BBC national services 1,2,3,4 & World Service], your local BBC station and your local commercial radio station.
7 [Seven] in total!
At that time, the average listener stuck with whatever was already tuned in because, well re-tuning to find a different station was just a faff.
Oh how the radio world has changed, there are now umpteen radio stations to choose from in any given location with national stations, regional stations, uber local Digital stations, community stations plus online radio too. Then when you add music streaming, podcasts and audiobooks etc, the competition for your ears is a very cluttered marketplace indeed.
What’s more, accessing all of these is so easy via your phone or smart speaker – just close one app and open another, no dramas. The listener is no longer contained by the fear of faff or limited choice, they can curate their own listening pleasure depending on their mood, location, time of day etc.
The listener is in control now, the choice of listening pleasure in the world of audio is vast and the medium reaches more people in more places, doing more things than ever before and it’s growing everyday. Social Media would donate organs to have the kind of scale audio has.
For the advertiser then, a MASSIVE opportunity!
BUT, whereas once upon a time it was easy to locate your listener in a few radio destinations, they can now roam freely amongst this huge audio universe. Publishers may tell you that the listener can find everything they’re looking for in their own ‘walled garden’ – but publisher brand loyalty is simply not a thing.
How to reach your listener, your potential customer then?
Simply put, at audioadpro we ignore the flashy presentations [we could say smoke and mirrors, but that would be mean] from the Publisher’s Sales Teams and follow the audience data. If you can afford a big Ad Agency with a department full of audio buyers and analysts, you could do the same, but if you can’t and you’d like to speak to your customers in your location[s], then this place is perfect for you.
