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Ring in the New Year’s Sales with Audio Ads

Did you know, Audio Ads are evolving as the next big thing in the Adtech industry? No. Can't believe it? Check the article by Christian Facey from AudioMob below

2020 has been a year of change for most industries, and as it is drawing to an end people will begin making new promises and resolutions for change in the year to come. 56% of people who make New Year’s resolutions spend money to keep them, according to Quicken, which provides a great opportunity for brands to promote their products and services, and ultimately cash in. And now, with even more restrictions that further squash any physical retail experience, there is even more pressure on brands to communicate in engaging ways that really resonate.

Audio ads provide an effective, highly targeted and brand safe way for brands to cut through the noise and boost their sales in the New Year.

The rise of audio advertising is relatively new in the industry outside of radio, but is already creating a huge buzz. Amongst the clamour, audio ads in mobile games are carving out their own platform; disrupting the industry and growing rapidly, brands are seeing a higher calibre of ad placements in mobile games. And people are increasingly turning to mobile games, looking for new ways to fill the boredom.

AudioMob is the pioneer of this new format: a Google for Startups backed premier of audio ads in mobile games. Their ad format is completely brand safe and immersive, with the potential for brands to be bold and creative in reaching a mass audience.

The advertising landscape is busier than ever this time of year, and with many physical shops closed due to lockdown the online battlefield will be more competitive than ever before Therefore, brands need to be more clever with their ad spend this year in order to get an edge and achieve the results they want; audio ads provide the perfect vehicle to do just this.

Consumers demand better

2020 has been a year like no other, and with so much time spent at home, classic adverts have over saturated the media space. Lockdown has driven a monotony into the world, with work from home, eat from home and play from home now considered the new normal. New Year’s shopping this year will look different: lines out the door and scrambling for the last sale will all be virtual. With so many physical stores closed to the public, the sales are being taken online, and retailers might be wary of a drier season. With the Christmas average spend 2020 expected to drop 7% compared to last year, by a huge £1.5billion, ad campaigns need to look at upping their game to keep consumer spend high.

Entertainment is a staple of lockdown life, with TV, film, podcasts and mobile games all going some way to bridge the gap between social distancing and virtual connection. The issue for brands is the overexposure through classic formats: consumers are left craving something different whilst their eyes glaze over another visual repetitive ad. This New Year is the right time for brands to put their ear to the ground, and pick up on new trends to get ahead of competitors.

Gameplay is key

An untapped resource for advertisers, mobile games alone generated 48% of total revenue of games worldwide this year, with a huge $77 billion. Mobile games are well entrenched in lockdown entertainment, and not just for the stereotypical young teenagers. The gaming demographic has evolved over the years, and their target market is suddenly a lot wider. In fact today, 63% of mobile gamers are women with the average age of a female gamer, 36 years old.

Mobile games offer a huge opportunity for brand reach with a clearer focus on the target demographic. The platform can leverage an untapped audience and connect brands to consumers directly. In simple terms, mobile games can connect a brand with an audience of over 2.5 billion gamers worldwide: the biggest potential brand reach in the entire entertainment industry. To take advantage of the popular New Year’s sales, brands need to listen to the demands of their consumers, and the market: it would be a no-brainer to turn their attention to mobile games as a huge potential revenue stream.

Audio – the new frontier

Audio ads are no longer the restricted radio broadcasting megaphone from decades ago. They can be elegant, smooth and create an experience that mirrors real human contact.

With voice assisted smart speakers a permanent fixture in so many homes in the US, digital audio ads are much more prevalent. They are also better received: with 58% of consumers finding smart speaker audio ads less intrusive than other forms, whilst 52% said they were also more engaging! The cost-effectiveness of audio ads are second to none, with 53% of consumers having made a purchase based on an audio ad. In mobile games, audio ads can be taken a step further to feel like reality: they can be completely immersed into the creative framework, giving brands a fresh and vibrant take with their advertising. It’s even possible to build the game around a completely integrated audio ad, adding to the entire experience for the gamer: such as the built in radio in the recently launched Big Brother: The Game, which used AudioMob’s ad format to offer audio ads during the game.

The development of a successful DSP has placed AudioMob at the helm of audio ads in games, becoming the format increasingly favoured by developers. The natural swell of movement towards non-intrusive in-game advertising drives audio front and centre. Audio ads enable players to continue playing whilst being exposed to the ad; they aren’t distracted enough to leave the game but still engage with the brand. For consumers, it’s a win as they can continue gameplay; for brands, they are still getting huge and increasingly targeted exposure; and developers can ensure an uninterrupted and immersive user experience. It’s a win win win and an opportunity to stand out from the crowd at a time when so many brands are fighting for centre stage.

Listen up brands!

Audio ads are on an uphill trajectory, with predictions of an 84% revenue growth from 2019 to 2025, and AudioMob is offering a clean and elegant solution for brands to tap into the market. With many physical stores closed and New Year campaigns becoming more creative, the battleground for brands is rife with the need to rise above competitors. AudioMob straddles two huge opportunities for brands to cut through the noise of the industry: mobile games are a naturally thriving environment for ad placement with a huge audience reach whilst audio ads drive an immersive and non intrusive experience for the player. Audio advertising could boost New Year’s exposure miles above the rest in 2020, and AudioMob is driving the industry to produce better, more exciting and immersive audio ads.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christian Facey, CEO and Co-Founder at AudioMob
Christian is the CEO and Co-Founder of AudioMob, the world’s first non-intrusive gaming advertising solution that allows game developers to monetize their audience via audio advertising.
Founding AudioMob at the end of 2019, Christian wanted to provide a solution to a common frustration among gamers – intrusive and annoying ads! Determined to change the way mobile game advertising is experienced, he married his passion for music and gaming, along with over 20 years experience in digital media and advertising, to create a product that disrupts the mobile ad space, keeping players, developers and advertisers happy. With a career spanning Facebook and Google, Christian has an impressive track record in the tech industry. He has also received acclaim from Omnicom, IAB, Business Insider and Pocket Gamer, to name a few giants. Christian is an expert speaker on topics including entrepreneurship, business strategy, digital marketing, digital audio, BAME mentorship and personal growth.

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