Author: Glen

We’ve all seen the resurgence of vinyl records in recent years. 

According to the British Phonographic Industry, 5.3 million LPs were sold in 2021, and even though streaming accounts for 83% of UK music consumption, vinyl LPs represented over a quarter of all physical format purchases.

While you might think it’s nostalgic Boomers, or Gen Xers behind the renaissance, surveys actually show it’s millennial consumers driving the trend.

Despite the resurgence, Redshark News writer David Shapton, remains steadfast, arguing that the audio quality of digital is far superior to vinyl.

To test this, David took a live sound source and recorded it in two ways. First, via analogue tape and then to vinyl. Second, direct to a digital recorder, capturing at 24 bits and at 192KHz sampling frequency.

So which sounded better? The digital one, suggests David. 

“They will sound different, and the sound from the vinyl record certainly won’t be unpleasant if it’s recorded well. But by any objective and subjective measure, it will sound worse than the digital one.”

In his experiment David concluded that there’s nothing wrong with liking the “vinyl” sound. It’s only when proponents of a certain analogue “sound” feel so strongly that they start denying the feasibility of a really good digital recording that it becomes a problem.

He suggests it’s not their ears. It’s their brains, or, more specifically, their cognitive systems that prefer the audio from a vinyl record. It’s a trigger to our brains that makes us say that “this sounds great”.

You can read the full story from Redshark News here.

Spotify has announced the release of call-to-action cards for advertisers in Australia, Canada and the U.K.

Spotify suggests the new clickable call-to-action cards will provide a visual component to audio ads, making it easier for users to view brands, products and services while listening to content, without having to remember promo codes, or URLs.

Spotify suggests recent tests show a 2x increase in site visits with the new CTA cards compared with non-clickable podcast ads.

The CTA cards will appear as a podcast begins, and reappear again later, with another opportunity for listeners to engage.

Spotify’s Head of sales (AUNZ) Pieter Manten said, “Consumers can select the moment they want to be discovering and shopping on their own terms, which enhances their experience.”

The CTA cards are now available in Australia on all Spotify Original & Exclusive podcasts.

As digital marketing technologies and ecosystems have grown, traditional advertising has lost some of its favour. However, the recent CMO Survey suggests that a shift back to traditional media is underway.

The CMO Survey suggests that online consumers have become increasingly numb to conventional digital ads and engagement.

They suggest, traditional ads are seeing greater engagement, while the costs associated with them have fallen.

Another trend driving an increase in traditional ad spending is the continued consumer trust in traditional formats like print and TV.

The survey found that some companies have recently reinvested in traditional advertising as a result of Google and Apple’s forthcoming cookie tracking changes.

Marketers have also started tapping into podcasts because their on-demand approach is akin to traditional radio and listeners trust their podcast presenters.

Like traditional advertising, digital marketing effectiveness is being revisited, however, the CMO Survey concludes that traditional advertising is “alive and well” and when used with digital marketing, can reach more audiences, build and maintain trust and motivate buying from consumers who might otherwise ignore marketing messages.

This year, Cadbury welcomed back the ‘Worldwide Hide’, a unique Easter egg ‘hiding’ experience. 

The experience is designed to bring people across the world together by shifting the focus from hunting easter eggs to hiding them.

Chris Birch & Jonny Parker, ECDs at VCCP London, said, ‘‘As lovely as getting a chocolate egg is, the real generosity and fun of Easter lies in the hiding.”

The Cadbury campaign lets you hide a 3 foot virtual egg anywhere in the world and then create a personalised clue to help someone find it. You can then choose to have eggs delivered in real life, thanks to a collaboration with Amazon.

Cadbury worked with VCCP London, VCCP CX and Girl&Bear to design the campaign. 

Last year’s campaign saw 800,000 virtual eggs hidden. The 2022 campaign will roll out across the UK, Ireland, Australia and South Africa.

In a bid to move away from simply promoting the look and feel of a new product, luxury brands like Chanel and Estée Lauder have begun to focus on values-based marketing and creative audio storytelling. 

In Estée Lauder’s new ad campaign for the fragrance ‘Beautiful Magnolia’, the focus is on four love stories.

Chanel is also among the handful of luxury brands experimenting with the new style of audio advertising, as audio-based content gains popularity through podcasts and audio apps like Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces.

Today, audio ad formats have evolved from the typical spots read by hosts on ad breaks, to include digital ad insertion, programmatic offerings and branded podcasts. 

Audio ads allow brands to tap into a programme’s loyal listenership and reach them via creative storytelling that feels more natural for the format.

The medium is also more cost effective than TV, or print advertising campaigns, but does require willingness to take creative risks. To get it right, brands must be willing to get personal and tie their branded audio content in with their values.