Radiocentre Ireland CEO, Ciarán Cunningham presented on current audio trends in the U.S. His key findings were:

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•Audio is becoming more important to a wide range of people; listening is becoming a sought-after high-end experience.

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•Consumer behaviour trends point to FM/AM continuing to have a reducing share of total audio listening in the U.S, but broadcast radio still remains a very potent advertising option as it dominates the ad-supported audio media landscape and remains a massive reach medium for all age cohorts.

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•Broadcast radio is the bedrock of revenue in the U.S. because it is the only way to achieve scale if you want ad-supported audio. Broadcast radio also drives significant incremental reach when used with TV/digital channels.  

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•A move to programmatic and transparency in data is very much required for the podcast sector to grow in a sustainable manner

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•Brand safety has been a significant barrier to entry to podcasts for many advertisers as the systems and technologies have not been available to track and adequately understand content and context, but solutions are rapidly improving.

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•Building ad-tech that allows the measurement of listener’s total audio engagement across all touchpoints facilitating audience selling in an integrated way is critical for future success

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•The roadmap for cross media measurement within audio and the wider media ecosystem isn’t clear as the industry awaits Nielsen One while new entrants enter the sector.

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•Advertisers have an overreliance on visual elements and often neglect the aural senses. There is a great opportunity for many advertisers and brands to develop a sonic branding strategy.

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