How to: a guide to harnessing the potential of actionable audio advertising

The “battle for the ears” is real, and advertisers and brands alike are recognising both creativity and quantifiable measurement data as two critical components of their audio strategies. So how do you make audio actionable when you can’t see it or touch it like other digital formats?

Explore new voice tools and platforms

A new range of responsive ad formats have started emerging in the last couple years – whether they are being broadcast on smart speakers, podcasts, or streaming music platforms – indicating audio advertising is growing and changing for the better. For example, the adoption rate of smart speakers around the world is burgeoning – over 38% of UK adults owned a smart speaker at the start of 2021, up from about 31% a year earlier.

Consumers can now enter the world of voice – listen to a podcast or a recipe on their smart speaker whilst cooking – and not leave that experience to engage with a brand’s advertising. By removing this barrier, a brand simply has to focus on ensuring that their voice and message are clear, resonating, and organic to the listening experience.

Know your audience – and their preferences

At Veritonic, our research has shown that speaking directly to your target audience will result in greater memorability, engagement, and emotional response. Therefore it is of prime importance to mind the tone and ensure that the voice you use feels familiar to your audience and encompasses your brand’s values and personality.

Additionally, the profile of voice talent is often an overlooked detail that can have monumental effects on performance. For example, in the Fast Food category, a lesser percentage of audio ads use a female voice, even though we continue to see that female voices over-index when it comes to performance. Testing various voiceover talents with different vocal characteristics is encouraged to see which resonate most with your target audience.

So what does that mean for celebrity voice talent? Do their voices always lead to a spike in attention? Not as consistently as you might think. This is why leveraging data to ensure the millions of dollars you’re dropping on an A-List celebrity is paying off, and isn’t equivalent to the return you’d see from a standard voice actor.

Download the full whitepaper.