This month, the historic city of Paris was not just a hub for arts and culture but also the epicenter of digital audio innovation, with AdsWizz proudly hosting Audio Days Paris 2024. This event convened industry leaders, creative minds, and technology pioneers to delve into the dynamic digital audio advertising ecosystem. Attendees also had the opportunity to network with peers, share insights, and seek advice on industry best practices.
Market Trends
Janny Beberian, Director of Business Development for Southern Europe at AdsWizz, highlighted the transformative changes in digital audio. She emphasized the market’s rapid growth, driven by significant advances in podcasting and programmatic technology.
- With the loss of third-party audience IDs, publishers are using technology platforms to leverage their first-party data for relevant, privacy-friendly ad experiences.
- Market expansion is being driven by growth in politics, retail, pharmaceuticals, and travel sectors.
- Digital audio use exceeds radio, with the industry maturing through better data accuracy and compliance with IAB standards.
Case Study – AudioPixel as a Measurement Tool
Morgane Peron, Director of Audience Data Operations at AdsWizz, showcased AudioPixel’s capabilities. AudioPixel analyzes performance metrics across campaigns aimed at user acquisition, traffic generation, and purchase intent. It can track activities from email collection during registration to detailed customer purchase journeys on e-commerce sites.
Clement Berthet, Associate Director of Digital at NRJ Global, then presented a case study illustrating Morgane’s practical application of this technology. He emphasized the importance of crafting audio-specific content rather than repurposing video assets, ensuring a clear call-to-action tailored for audio platforms, and leveraging the unique continuous engagement potential of audio formats through innovative strategies like Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) and interactive formats such as ShakeMe.
Publicis + Hawk Brand Lift with Happydemics
Nadine Picosson, Associate Director of Audio Trading at Publicis Media, outlined her company’s strategy to boost digital audio, focusing on transparency, contextual data, and advanced programmatic approaches. Concurrently, Mehdi Aroussi, Senior Director of Global Partnerships at Hawk, introduced their new AI-driven DCO to support partners’ needs.
Use Audio as a Lever to Think Outside the Box
Camille Biehler, Key Account Director at Acast, Albane Laclavière, Business Director at OMD, and Léa Paris D’Artigu, Head of Media and Communication at Biocodex, gave an overview on the success of host-read content in capturing audience attention.
Digital Audio: A Key Lever for Brand Image
Anne-Marie Kalinka, Managing Director, France at Amnet, and Virginie Chesnais, Chief Marketing Officer at Happydemics, stressed the impact of digital audio in improving brand recognition and favorability, demonstrating its efficacy through the effect of audio investments on brand perception.
Their presentation recapped the effectiveness of campaigns using high and mid-funnel indicators to understand audience responses. They compared these metrics with a benchmark of over 180 audio brand lifts across different countries and media types and tailored recommendations aligned with campaign objectives and industry best practices to maximize the impact of each audio strategy, thereby verifying digital audio’s flexibility and strategic value.
SoundCloud: A Social Platform Pioneer
Quentin Spineu, Account Director, EU, at AdsWizz, illustrated SoundCloud’s innovative role as a social platform that breaks conventional barriers between artists and audiences. SoundCloud is a launching pad for local trends to escalate into global phenomena, regardless of the artists’ origins, languages, or connections. The platform also facilitates music discovery, where fans find and share their next favorite artists, and fosters direct interactions between artists and fans without intermediaries.
SoundCloud is pioneering Mood Targeting, a feature that allows brands to connect with listeners based on their emotional state. This enables advertisers to target audiences across different moods, such as Angsty, Chill, Energetic, Focused, Happy, Soothing, Love, Celebratory, and Relaxed, thereby enhancing receptivity to brand messages.
Case Studies
- Walmart and SoundCloud celebrated Black History Month with a series featuring emerging hip-hop artists and their commentary on identity in music.
- Adidas and SoundCloud’s “We Gave the World an Original” campaign spotlighted fashion-forward creators, featuring artist Stormzy.
- Hyundai and SoundCloud launched a track series and contest to promote Hyundai’s positive impact, awarding $5,000 to one winner.
- Toyota and SoundCloud’s SCENES documentary series explored culture-forward music communities. It featured Mexican artists and launched on Billboard Latin.
Panel: Data-Driven Strategies for Content
Participants
- Morgane Peron – Director, Audience Data Operations at Adswizz
- Laurent Dauron – Director, Digital Operations at Lagardère Publicité
- Jenna Cortaredona – Head of Data Offers and Partnerships at M6 Publicité
- Mickaël Gaspar – Deputy Director, Sales at Altice Media
M6: Mastering Data Precision
Jenna Cortaredona, Head of Data Offers and Partnerships at M6 Publicité, provided an in-depth analysis of how M6 Publicité leverages a sophisticated cross-channel Data Management Platform (DMP) to utilize first-party data effectively. She emphasized Single Sign-On (SSO) and logged-in users for data integrity and future services. Jenna also addressed first-party data fragmentation and solutions with contextual targeting for better platform scalability and integration.
Altice: Leveraging Content for Engagement and Revenue
Mickaël Gaspar, Deputy Director, Sales at Altice Media, discussed how Altice leverages content to generate additional activation opportunities while naturally increasing traffic on their platforms. With web-radio offerings, they can attract a diverse audience, particularly during seasonal events like the Olympics or Roland Garros. This strategy benefits publishers by enhancing engagement and audience retention, attracting new listeners, and expanding monetization opportunities.
Lagardère: Integrating Data and Content for Market Expansion
Laurent Dauron, Director, Digital Operations at Lagardère Publicité, discussed merging audience data with engaging content to bolster their cross-channel offerings. He also described the benefits of their partnership with SiriusXM Media, which helps Lagardère reach new markets and improve contextual targeting.
The Future is Bright (and Loud)
AdsWizz remains steadfast in our mission to push the boundaries of technology in audio adtech, as evidenced by AdsWizz Audio Days Paris 2024. The vibrant discussions and presentations from industry leaders underscored the transformative power of digital audio. The ongoing convergence of these creative minds will continue to pave the way for future innovations in our industry.
See you at the next AdsWizz Audio Days!
by Daniel Einhorn, Senior Manager, Content Marketing
