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Over the past few years, talent scouting has been a hot topic because brands saw influencers as having a ready and engaged follower base to advertise too.

However, some experts now suggest that the followers of TikTok influencers, or Instagram Reels, don’t necessarily want to hear the same people talk at length in a podcast. 

Further to this, many brands have a renewed focus on the bottom line, wanting proven talent and ideas, and a desire for a better return on their podcast investment.

This focus will particularly affect original programming, which is a far greater gamble. 

However, the shift to focus more on the bottom line might also suggest that the podcast world is moving from a niche channel to a more established distribution channel for big advertisers.

Audio advertising has always been an important part of the media mix. 

Today, interactive audio ads are being cleverly used with smartphones and smart speakers via the device’s voice activated technology.

Interactive ads allow the listener to engage with the content as opposed to being a passive listener, resulting in a stronger and more meaningful brand association.

We know that digital audio ads can target a subsection of listeners, which means that it’s possible to tailor the message to a unique listener. However, interactive digital audio ads take this a step further by providing an opportunity to introduce actionable outcomes. 

For example, at the end of an ad, the listener could be asked to answer a question, or to have the product being advertised dropped directly into an online shopping cart.

The interactive digital audio ad is a unique proposition for advertisers, because it’s capable of combining the brand benefits of traditional advertising with the targeting and interactivity of digital ads.

Spotify continues to break new ground in the world of interactive audio. Click here for more information about what they are doing in this space.

When it comes to e-Learning, which is better, audio or text?

Text is often the foundation of digital learning due to the ease of writing, or updating the content however, audio can add emotion, personality and tone that will help enrich the overall learning experience.

We often see e-Learning combine text and audio, where a narrator reads the text on the screen, however, recent studies suggest that this is not particularly effective.

This is because people process text and audio differently. This means that text and audio may become ineffective, or redundant in targeting a learner’s auditory and visual channels at the same time. 

For example, if you watch a TV show with audio captions, you may notice that you read dialogue before it’s spoken, limiting the emotional impact of the on-screen action.

In the context of storytelling, text can be written in a compelling manner however, audio will improve engagement because the listener will better associate with the emotion behind the voice.

Audio can also create a memorable experience; a critical component of e-Learning because it allows the listener to better retain and recall the information.

Audio continues to be an effective tool in e-Learning, and if used properly can provide better outcomes. However, when deciding on the best media, context for the learning will ultimately influence the solution.

Audio engineer jargon tends to sound more like terms you’d use to describe food rather than audio. So here are the meanings behind some of the more common words used here at Hardy Audio.

Warm

Warm is a positive term. A ‘warm’ sound or tone, has a tilt towards the bass frequencies but remains pleasantly spacious in the upper ranges.

Muddy

Muddy is a negative term that suggests the audio has too much bass/low mid frequency, instruments/vocals aren’t clear, or there is poor sound reproduction.

Clean

Clean audio suggests the audio is free from distracting/unwanted sounds, and or frequencies. It can also mean the audio is easily distinguishable without anything being too loud, or too quiet.

Hollow

Sound that is ‘hollow’ is where the mid range is too quiet. This can make the bass and treble sound louder, resulting in a sound that is empty in the middle.

Dull

Dull, or flat may be used to describe a lack of high frequencies, or treble notes.

Peaky

Peaky audio implies there are peaks or distortions. This results in unexpectedly loud audio that can distort and sound unclear.

Tinny

Tinny audio can have weak lows and peaky mids which result in a flat hollow sound, like it is coming through a telephone, or ‘tin can’.

Cooked 

The term cooked is used when the digital audio signal is higher than the allowable limit i.e. a clipped signal. Cooked audio can also refer to the compression applied e.g. if the audio is over compressed, it will lose dynamic range and sound quieter.

According to the recent IAB Australian Audio State of the Nation Report, advertisers are leaning into programmatic audio.

The report suggests 64% of media agencies intend to use programmatic for audio advertising over the next 12 months (up from 59% in 2021), 73% now have streaming digital audio advertising as a regular part of their activity and 59% regularly consider podcast advertising, (up 36% from 2021).

The report suggests audio advertising enhances brand building and is one of the most important reasons why agencies undertake audio advertising. In fact, the report found that digital audio has continued to increase its role in brand building with 87% of media agencies using streaming digital audio advertising and 84% using podcast advertising to increase brand awareness. Further, 46% consistently use an audio or sonic logo as a branding asset in their creative.

According to this year’s Iab Australia Audio Summit, combining digital audio advertising with digital display and out of home advertising seems to be a successful combination for many agencies.

A report from Roy Morgan and the Australian Retailers Association suggests Australians are expected to spend $415 million on Valentine’s Day this year, with the average individual expected to spend $111.00. 

According to the report, 39% will purchase flowers, 28% chocolate, food and alcohol and 9% will purchase jewellery. 

In Australia, roughly a third of consumers said they would be increasing their Valentine’s Day spend compared to last year, but the majority (65%) said they would be spending the same amount.

Valentine’s Day gifting is more prevalent with younger Australians. 38% of 18-24 year old’s plan to buy a gift, while only 7% of people over 65 plan to celebrate the day.

In the U.S. the Valentine’s Day bounty expects to take a hit this year, with surveys suggesting the usual gifts will be replaced by home-cooked meals and takeout.

As a result U.S. brands started selling Valentine’s Day items much earlier in the year, an advertising strategy employed with Black Friday and Christmas sales in 2021.

It’s a new year so there are plenty of thrilling, exciting and fun new podcasts to listen to. Here are a few to sink your teeth into.

Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast

If you’re not familiar with Private Eye Magazine, it’s a British satirical and current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. Published in London, the magazine has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986 and is widely recognised for its prominent criticism and lampooning of public figures. Today, Ian and Private Eye magazine venture into the world of audio with Page 94, a podcast hosted by Andrew Hunter Murray.

Room 5

What happens when a diagnosis changes everything? One afternoon, Helena Merriman walked into a doctor’s surgery and was given a shock diagnosis. In this series, Helena interviews people who, like her, were changed by a diagnosis. The podcast series shines a light on misunderstood conditions, asking how we cope when our bodies and our minds no longer behave as we want them to.

The Wait

One night at 4 am in 2013, Mozhgan Moarefizadeh and her family slip away from immigration detention in Jakarta. They walk for hours in heavy rain, with no phones and no idea where they are. Mozhgan is 21-years old. In The Wait, Mozhgan and journalist Nicole Curby investigate how Australia has created a new border, inside Indonesia, and ask who’s responsible for its consequences. What does it mean to be caught forever on the run, trapped in a permanent in-between?

Things Fell Apart

Things Fell Apart is a series of strange and unexpected human stories from the history of the culture wars. What are the origins of cancel culture? How did we become such a divisive society? The podcast explores topics like abortion, sex education, gay liberation and school curriculums and discovers the strange and sometimes heartwarming examples of how things came to be. 

Disgraceland

Disgraceland is a podcast about musicians getting away with murder and behaving very badly. The Thirty-ish minute episodes trace the most insane criminal stories surrounding our most interesting and infamous pop stars. Season 1 of Disgraceland was released on February 13, 2018 and within two days reached number 7 in the Apple Podcasts ‘top podcasts’ chart. It has since been downloaded millions of times in over 150 countries.