Turning Listener Insights into an Audio Ad Strategy: A Guide

Just as an audio advertising campaign can’t exist without a strategy, an effective strategy can’t be drawn up without listener insights. Luckily, today’s brands have an abundance of data to work with, so they don’t have to limit themselves to targeting broad audiences like “males aged 25-64” and hope for the best. 

Thanks to advancing technology, audio platforms and networks now offer complex listener insights that go beyond simple data like age and gender. When brands leverage this knowledge to its fullest potential, it translates into opportunities to build winning campaigns that drive long-term impact. 

Why listener insights are the foundation of successful audio advertising 

Listener insights can be the difference between making noise and making a connection. Modern adtech helps uncover valuable data, including your audience's behaviors, preferences, and habits. A strategic marketer can use those insights to fill in the blanks, from better understanding their audience to informing future decisions to developing campaigns that hit all the right notes.  

For instance, 45% of female podcast listeners say they are more likely to consider a brand advertising on a female-hosted podcast. If you want to increase brand awareness among this group, consider targeting them on popular female-hosted shows like Call Her Daddy, Rotten Mango, and the Mel Robbins Podcast. Or, if you’re specifically looking to target music listeners who lean on audio as an outlet, you can target the 81% of Pandora country fans who say music improves their mood. Get in their ears with stations like Country and Today’s Country.

From improving targeting precision (female Gen Zers or male millennials), to developing relevant creative (display or video), to choosing the right platform to advertise on (streaming audio or podcasts), listener insights are a powerful tool. 

What types of listener insights can brands leverage? 

Demographic data

Understanding your audience is the first step in creating highly relevant ads. When you partner with us, you get access to our first-party and verified data, so you can build detailed audience profiles. 

To reach an educated and affluent audience, look no further than the SiriusXM Podcast and SiriusXM Streaming Networks. More than half (52%) of our podcast listeners hold a college degree or higher, and 44% have an annual household income of $75K or more. Meanwhile, 40% of Pandora’s listeners have an income greater than $100K.  

Contextual listening signals

Audio is a unique medium that accompanies listeners throughout the day. It’s the soundtrack to everyday life, allowing brands to be relevant in each and every moment. To match your creative to your listeners’ mindset, leverage contextual targeting to align with where they are and what they’re doing in real time. 

Thanks to options like activity targeting, you can create messages tailored for listeners who are exercising, working, hosting, and more. Whether you opt for advertising on the Pandora stations Workout Hits, Dinner Party, or Cooking, meeting your audience exactly where they are promotes positive brand associations and inspires action. 

Platform, device, and medium trends

Varied platforms and devices attract different users and behavioral patterns. Insights into whether a user is listening on a smart speaker, mobile app, or desktop can help you determine your message, CTA, and tone. For instance, consider whether your message might appeal to a single listener or if it should attract a group of co-listeners. 

And remember, brands should consider not just a device or platform itself but how long listeners have spent on them as users. Looking for a loyal audience to build long-term equity? You’ll be pleased to know that 63% of Pandora listeners have been using the app for at least a decade. This audience longevity fosters familiarity and trust, creating a safe environment for brands to build meaningful connections.

Content and genre preferences 

Music genre and podcast insights allow for precise alignment with listeners’ passions. You can leverage data on top-performing music genres (rock, country, pop, and R&B on Pandora) to match your ad with trending stations. Or, if you want to connect with podcast lovers, consider advertising on top-ranking shows like SmartLess or Dateline NBC and collaborating with trusted hosts. 

How to turn listener insights into an actionable campaign strategy

Start with clear objectives 

Campaign success starts with setting goals correctly. Before launching, define exactly what you want to achieve. Are you looking to broadly increase your brand awareness? Or, maybe, drive conversions among a niche audience in a local area? 

Use insights to inform audience segmentation

It’s a big no-no to treat all audio listeners the same, especially with the stellar targeting capabilities and data signals that are available today. Use demographic and contextual data to build sophisticated audience segments rather than relying on overly broad buckets. For instance, instead of targeting California-based females, you can take it a step further and reach college-educated hip-hop enthusiasts. 

Optimize ad formats based on listening habits

Understanding your listener will help you choose the right format for your message. After all, 79% of audio consumption happens when visual media is not available. Is your target listener likely to be cooking or exercising to their favorite beats during the evening? Then it’s highly likely they’re not looking at their screens, so don't rely on a display ad to do the heavy lifting. Instead, create audio-only ads that focus on sound design and voice to tell the story. Meanwhile, for consumers who enjoy tuning in at home, reach them on smart speakers and consider tailoring your ad to be voice-activated. 

Use listener insights to enhance campaign performance

Test and refine creative based on listener engagement 

Creative testing is fundamental for any marketer. We work with industry leader Veritonic for all aspects of creative testing, so you can conduct A/B testing and see which voice, music, or message resonates better with your target audience. Noticing that your target demographic responds better to a conversational and fun version of an ad over the original? Pivot your strategy before you end up investing even more budget and time. 

Use measurement tools to close the loop

Despite some common misconceptions, audio is measurable. And modern audio measurement is sophisticated and expansive; it’s possible to see the impact of your campaign on anything from foot traffic to brand perception. We offer a full suite of cross-funnel measurement solutions in partnership with reputable vendors like Foursquare, Veritonic, Kantar, Nielsen, and more.

By learning as much as you can about your listeners, what clicks for them, and what drives real results, you can use a single campaign’s performance as the fuel to propel your next move.

From listener insights to audio advertising impact 

We have a unique view into the modern American listener—from who they are, to where they listen, to how their playlists help define them. With 170M monthly listeners, we’re the largest audio advertising ecosystem in North America. Additionally, we have the right tools, partners, and insights to create campaigns that deliver real results.

Ready to see how you can use listener insights to shape your audio advertising strategy? Let’s chat.

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