What spot length works best? Audacy partnered with Veritonic to compare frequent radio listener responses to 15, 30 and 60-second ads across multiple categories such as auto, financial, retail and professional services to address this frequently asked question. Jenny Nelson (Audacy) and Korri Kolesa (Veritonic) presented the results of this study, which were measured by Veritonic’s audio score components such as attribute score, intent score and engagement score. This survey-based study of a panel of 2,400 radio listeners pointed to a variety of recommendations, such as initiating multiple 30-second ads instead of fewer 60-second ads, testing creative before launch and deploying a total audio strategy to reach omnichannel listeners.
Julia Johnston (Comscore) moderated the closing remarks with panelists Edwin Wong (Vox Media), Josh Chasin (VideoAmp), and Cole Strain (Samba TV). The group offered differing perspectives on the panels presented on day two of AUDIENCExSCIENCE 2022. Some topics of discussion included effective ad length and appropriate platforms, quality of measurement, the industry’s openness to new standards and the emerging team approach to problem-solving.
Horst Stipp, ARF’s EVP, moderated a panel discussion with the speakers from the second half of the event. He asked panelists if they found new insights or surprises in the presentations and discussions, if there is room for improvement in attention measures and “what’s next”, specifically if attention measures should become currency. Here are edited highlights from their conversation.
According to Britt Cushing of OMD, we need to make sure that creative and media “sit hand in glove” as everyone battles for attention in a sea of clutter that is diluting effectiveness. Sixty-five percent of media impact actually comes from the creative. OMD has been looking at attention for planning through years of empirical testing (across 25 brands, 10 categories and seven different markets). They found that attention drives mental availability and is fundamental for brand growth. In this presentation Britt discussed OMD’s approach to leveraging attention from planning to activation to garner competitive advantages for brands.
Max Kalehoff of Realeyes discussed what can happen when you manage for creative attention to further bridge the gap between media and creative. Realeyes uses a model based on NCS’s model on contributors of campaign outcomes to calculate how media and creative attention lead to quality exposures and brand impact. Realeyes also leans into facial coding via webcam to measure human attention on video creative—how it is captured, retained and encoded. To apply the creative efficiency to a nominal CPM, Realeyes ran a simulation study of 42 YouTube ads across seven CPG cleaning brands. They found that creative efficiency determines up to 3X delta in quality exposure share. The study also identified what moves the needle on creative attention and efficiency in CPG.
On June 7, 2023, attention economy experts came together in NYC to share case studies and participate in engaging discussions on the attention measurement landscape. Plus, attendees heard a recap of the issues debated at AUDIENCExSCIENCE and an update on Phase I of the ARF Attention Validation Initiative, an empirically based evaluation of the rapidly developing market for attention measurement and prediction.
With 90% of Gen Z using their platform, Snap’s Aarti Bhaskaran and Kara Louis shared six top trends gathered over three years of studying this cohort from a combination of consumer insights and media measurement. As the most diverse generation in the U.S., Gen Z values authenticity and looks for personal online experiences in ways that inform how they engage with content.
Podcasts offer strong value for advertisers as the result of the growing amount of content, audience diversity and high engagement levels, including increased brand recall. Opportunities for monetization of podcast ads have increased and MAGNA expects U.S. podcast ad revenues to reach $2.4 billion in 2023.
Aarti Bhaskaran – Global Head of Ad Research & Insights, Snap Inc.
Kara Louis – Group Research Manager, Snap Inc.
With 90% of Gen Z using their platform, Snap’s Aarti Bhaskaran and Kara Louis shared six top trends gathered over three years of studying this cohort from a combination of consumer insights and media measurement. As the most diverse generation in the U.S., Gen Z values authenticity and looks for personal online experiences in ways that inform how they engage with content.
The data presented showed how Gen Z are visual communicators and mobile video natives. They trust real content from friends and family, pay attention early in ads, care about purpose messaging and want immersive shopping experiences, ideally personalized with AR.
The Q&A after the presentation covered other aspects of the study including global differences, ad lengths, content creators and costs, and Gen Z-favored brands.
Brands looking to connect with Gen Z should:
Adapt to visual communication: 95% of Gen Z have used visual communication when messaging friends, and 54% of Gen Zs agree that digital avatars/Bitmojis help them express themselves.
Leverage mobile video: For Gen Z, mobile is a complement to TV with 1 in 2 (54%) like watching shorter shows or bite-size highlights of TV shows.
Ensure real, brand-safe content: 89% say it’s important to watch videos in a place that feels like a trusted and safe space.
Use immersive experiences: Interactive and personalized shopping experiences are a must—92% of Gen Z are interested in using AR for shopping, with over half of Gen Z saying they’d be more likely to pay attention to an ad that uses AR.
Capture their attention early: Despite having the lowest overall active attention across generations, Gen Z has the highest active attention in the first 8 seconds.
Feature purpose-driven messaging: 73% of Gen Z are likely to be loyal to a company that speaks to social issues, posts information or has ads about social change.
Brian Hughes – EVP, Managing Director, Audience Intelligence & Strategy, MAGNA
Arica McKinnon – VP, Campaign Analytics, Nielsen
Podcasts offer strong value for advertisers as the result of the growing amount of content, audience diversity and high engagement levels, including increased brand recall. Opportunities for monetization of podcast ads have increased and MAGNA expects U.S. podcast ad revenues to reach $2.4 billion in 2023.
Brian Hughes of MAGNA and Arica McKinnon of Nielsen shared the results of a podcast advertising effectiveness study and presented the best practices that increased the effectiveness of these ads, overall, and for CPG, automotive and retail brands, specifically.
The study measured the impact of podcast advertising on key brand lift metrics utilizing an online panel, controlled exposure methodology and a post survey. These results were then compared to Nielsen’s Podcast Norms.
Key Takeaways
Podcasts provide reliable lifts on key brand metrics, including familiarity, affinity, information-seeking intent, purchase intent, recommendation intent and aided awareness, but fine-tuning can create even more value.
Longer creative generally drives higher lifts, but 35 seconds to a minute ads strike the right balance between results and the listener experience.
More brand mentions drive better results.
Host read ads are better for building awareness and driving search.
Custom content enables brands to build awareness due to strong recall.
Pre- and mid-roll placements show comparable lifts, while post-roll has a clear disadvantage.
Podcasts can drive positive results for CPG brands across the funnel.
Auto brands can use podcasts to build awareness and affinity. Sports podcasts are a good fit for auto brands.
Podcasts work well to build awareness and affinity for retail brands.
