The Power of Programmatic Audio: What does this mean for brands?

There’s no other way to describe it: programmatic business has boomed in the last 12 months.

Programmatic audio takes the redeeming features of this channel one step further, and is poised to help APAC marketers realise their campaign objectives with a host of unique differentiators.

For the skeptical amongst you, the Philippines provides a great example of how digital audio can thrive in markets that spend big on both broadcast audio and digital video. 91.5% of Filipino internet users tuned into digital audio in 2020², and music streaming accounted for over 2 hours of consumption on a daily basis³ - evidence of untapped audience insights in even the most saturated markets.

This makes 2021 a critical year for marketers in the region - an important period to understand what makes programmatic audio special, and an opportunity to dissociate the channel from radio.

Join us for a run-through of programmatic audio’s unique differentiators, and an insight into our work transforming campaigns from sleeper hits to mainstream smashes in Southeast Asia and beyond.

4 Reasons To Believe In The Power Of Programmatic Audio

1. Personalised Audio Messaging

Digital video has its perks, and it’s a medium that APAC decisionmakers of all shapes and sizes have become comfortable with. However, a closer look at the numbers (viewed through the lens of the Philippines earlier in this article⁴) reveals an underutilized channel flying under the radar: digital audio.

Programmatic audio allows marketers to harness these consumers with true personalisation, enabling decision-making that’s driven by our treasure trove of Spotify First Party Data¹ listening data and the resulting raw, uncut insights. Sound good? Stay with us, there’s more to come...

2. Audio Moments

Access to Spotify First Party Data¹ listening data allows marketers to tick a lot of boxes straight off the bat.

The breadth and depth of this allows marketers to target what we call ‘moments’ - helping you identify the right time to step in and strike a chord with your audience using content that matches your potential customer’s mood. This lessens the chance of your campaign hitting a bum note, and increases the likelihood of your brand hitting the mark with relevant ad creative.

One brand who’s already put our audio methods into practice is foodpanda. Kantor outlined how programmatic audio allowed her teams to ‘specifically target potential customers with personalised messages in a really creative and memorable way.’

3. Game-changing Reporting & Measurement Capabilities

Programmatic audio offers new metrics to measure the success of your campaigns with augmented touchpoints (note to all planners: set clear KPI’s with your ATD’s and DSP’s).

Yellow Cab Pizza offers a particularly good example for brands looking to trial programmatic audio for the first time. Thanks to the power of Spotify’s streaming intelligence and Group M’s [m]insights, the Filipino restaurant chain was able to drive over 25,000 customers to store locations with audio creative tailored to specific menu items. This approach generated a higher than benchmarked conversion rate of 2.5% and helped Yellow Cab Pizza gather valuable insights around the campaign audience’s dining habits⁵.

4. Programmatic Guaranteed Audio

Spotify’s Programmatic Guaranteed Audio (PGA) builds upon the foundations of audio planning by adding additional layers of governance to the jigsaw puzzle.

Our PGA offering is built around 3 pillars: precision, customisation and control - giving customers the opportunity to measure their results accurately and build in custom campaign controls and audio formats. The latter is where things get really interesting: our PGA offering allows marketing teams to precisely target users with custom ad formats - think branded playlists and microsites with support from our in-house team of PGA experts.

After almost a decade in the limelight, a changing of the guard is upon us. Here’s what the shift to audio taught us:

1. Consumers in APAC were even more crazy about streaming than we realised.
2. Social distancing has changed us⁶ - maybe temporarily, maybe forever - and audio data is the most effective way of tracking this change moving forward.

No matter when or where the dust settles, Spotify audio data looks set to emerge as the go-to source for how audiences think, act and stream in APAC. This makes gaining early admission to Spotify’s advertising options a crucial step for any marketer looking to gain a competitive advantage in 2021’s brave new world for digital advertising spends.

Take your programmatic planning to the next level and download our Programmatic media kits for Programmatic Guaranteed and Private Marketplace.