Digital Audio Advertising Creative Production: Producing Memorable Ads

Digital audio has never been more omnipresent, and advertising on streaming audio, podcasts, and live talk lets brands leverage one of the most powerful channels for reaching their target audience and KPIs. But, to ensure your ads go beyond just checking a box to drive real ROI, they have to stand out. Audio creative needs to be unique, memorable, and, well, creative. 

Below, we’ll dive into what can make or break an ad’s memorability, why it matters, and the key elements featured by the best ads.

Why Creativity Matters in Digital Audio

At their most basic level, brand messages inform, persuade, and remind consumers about your products and services. However, when you add creativity to the mix, that’s when the real magic happens. Functional advertising evolves into effective advertising. Creativity can surprise and delight, driving a range of positive outcomes, from brand lift to ad recall and more. 

Effective digital audio advertising harnesses the strength of sound to help brands grab consumer attention, boost relevance and resonance, and build emotional connections with listeners. The winning formula could be an earworm jingle, a beloved podcaster doing a host-read ad, immersive soundscapes, or a compelling script. Creativity is a powerful tool that transforms simple ads into messages that stay in listeners’ minds long after they’re heard. 

Digital audio advertising doesn’t mean brand messages are confined to audio. Whether you’re leveraging visual formats on audio platforms, tapping into podcast social followings, or running complementary ads on other media (like CTV), running an omnichannel campaign is a force multiplier to supercharge effectiveness. Combining ad creativity with a multi-platform approach can result in a better share of voice (SOV) and be more likely to capture attention. 

What Makes a Digital Audio Ad Memorable?

Our daily lives are flooded with auditory stimuli—sometimes in isolation, sometimes paired with other sensory signals. There are certain hallmarks of those digital audio ads that are able to cut through this noise and imprint the intended message on listeners’ memories.

• Personalization: Blasting a generic ad out to the widest possible audience (aka traditional radio advertising) isn’t nearly as effective as tailoring the experience to hit at the perfect moment and time and with the right people. When leveraging today’s first-party data and real-time analytics to personalize ads, brands can enjoy better ROAS, increased brand loyalty, and higher engagement.

• Creative elements: Whether you’re featuring a compelling narrative and storytelling, engaging voice talent, or using sound effects, getting all the creative details right will pay off. And don’t forget to seal the deal with a clear and strong call to action (CTA).

• Sonic strategy: A powerful sonic strategy helps set your audio branding apart, allowing you to achieve your campaign objectives by creating a sound that audiences can associate with your brand. Before you establish a sonic identity (e.g., jingles or sonic logos), make sure you’ve defined higher-level goals. Then, pay attention to context, consistency, and compatibility—and always measure and refine.

Key Elements of a Well-Produced Digital Audio Ad

When you think of all the viral and award-winning audio ads over the years (or the ones that personally stood out to you while you were on your morning commute), several common characteristics define them. From the ideation to production stages, here’s how to make your ad stand apart. 

Understand Your Audience 

Define your audience clearly to tailor your messages as effectively as possible. But don’t settle for just the basics, like location or demographics. Technology and first-party data allow brands to understand audiences far more intimately—think listener interests, device preferences, and mood. Is your goal to reach punk-loving Gen Zers who are currently feeling happy? Or maybe you’re looking to target multicultural millennials who enjoy cooking and hosting parties? Know who they are, and the context you’re reaching them should inform your audio ad creative. 

Complement Your Creative With the Right Targeting

Effective targeting gets the message across at the right time to the right people. Narrow down your targeting by audience (behavior and demo), contextual (activity and mood), or advanced (lookalike modeling and retargeting). 

Make a Creative Script 

You want your message to resonate, so creative scriptwriting is crucial. Start by brainstorming scripts for various ad lengths. Then, ensure the point is clear while keeping the content engaging and aligned with your brand voice. Finally, as you dot your i’s and cross your t’s, remember to be relatable and not overly promotional, and aim to create an emotional connection.

Find the Right Voice Talent 

Just like a script or music choice, voice talent can make or break an ad for listeners. Voiceover talent can inspire a particular mood or mindset, and you’ll want to choose actors who are relatable to your audience while maintaining authenticity and adherence to your brand’s voice. Aiming to reach listeners in a specific region? Enlist the help of voice actors in that geographic area to nail specific accents or dialects. 

Experiment With Music, Sound Effects, and 3D Audio 

Music and sound effects help set the tone for digital audio ads. A holiday tune can help evoke fireplace-adjacent coziness during the winter months. Meanwhile, smooth jazz paired with clinking champagne glasses might bring feelings of luxury and refinement. And “twangs” and “boings” signal a more lighthearted, perhaps comical, tone. With music, sound effects, and 3D audio at your disposal, choose what matches your message and brand voice best to drive your message effectively.

Accompany Audio With Display or Video 

One of the most effective strategies is to pair digital audio advertising with visual elements, like display and video ad formats. This approach allows for a multi-sensory experience that helps brands reinforce audio messages visually, reduce ad fatigue, and strengthen recall and engagement.

Leave a Clear CTA

As you plan how your ad ends, laying out clear next steps is key to driving the results you want to see. A strong CTA guides listeners to do what’s next, whether it’s an in-store visit, making a purchase, or learning more about a product on a website. 

Use Dynamic and Sequential Advertising

Up the personalization of your messaging with dynamic and sequential audio. Dynamic audio tailors ads to specific listeners by creating variations based on many real-time factors, including location, time of day, weather, and more. Meanwhile, sequential audio takes storytelling to the next level by telling a piece of a greater narrative over the course of several ad plays. When you combine the two, brands can supercharge campaigns to be more contextual, fostering a deeper connection between the audience and brand.

Keep Up With the Latest Trends 

Podcasts and streaming audio are fast-moving areas. Not only are new technologies around measurement, targeting, and optimization popping up often but brands should also consider shifting listener trends. 

Know When to (or Not to) Use AI 

It feels like AI is everywhere nowadays, and you may find it tempting to rely on this technology to write a pre-roll ad spot or create some new sound effects. However, AI requires human-led strategy instead of leaving it to the bots entirely. The human element has no replacement as you try to intimately connect with your target audience. Consider taking a hybrid approach—from starting by brainstorming with the help of AI to ending with a human voice-over to add emotion to your messaging. 

Create an Elevated Audio Ad Experience With Studio Resonate

If you’re looking for someone else to handle the creative, you’ve come to the right people. Studio Resonate, our award-winning, in-house agency, offers a wide range of services to support any audio creative needs. Whether your goal is improving campaign planning, crafting a sonic brand strategy, or audio production and measurement, our team of experts takes your audio advertising game to the next level. 

Walk the Road to Better Digital Audio Advertising

Ready to get creative with your digital audio advertising and produce ad spots that are memorable, reach your target audience, and drive results? You’re in the right place. Let’s talk.

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