Ad-supported digital audio turns up the volume

Our annual Digital Marketing Pulse Report provides a deep assessment of the Canadian digital marketing landscape by comparing levels of familiarity and usage of digital tactics – from the most mature to those that are cutting edge among client-side marketers and agencies. It gauges sentiment on the current and future state of digital marketing and, where appropriate, integrates consumer perceptions.

Below are a few highlights from the latest survey. Join us at CMAmeasurement on December 6, where the full report will be revealed.

Think about all of those people at work, at home, working out and on the subway wearing their latest set of headphones. They are everywhere – right? Many of them are listening to Spotify/Apple Music or are part of the explosion in podcasting.

In fact, 55% of Canadians tell us that they have listened to a podcast in the past six months and 46% say it was created or sponsored by a company.   

And yet, in the past few years, we’ve seen no more than flat line use of digital audio as an advertising platform. That is – until now. This year there was a clear jump from 17% to 29% among marketers and from 24% to 33% among agencies who told us that they are using digital audio frequently. 

Is this a tactic that is catching on? Some have told us that the move up might be a function of this tactic’s increasing sophistication around targeting and the intersection with programmatic. Others point to the fact that digital audio as an advertising tactic really provides for the ability of brands to spin a narrative – great branded content. 

The growth of prominent players in the space and the growth of podcast content provides advertisers with scale and options to find content aligned with their brands. As the quality of the content (partly a function of sponsorship) and the audience numbers (partly a function of the return to commuting) improve, we anticipate even more growth in digital audio as a tactic.