Audio and Consumption Trends Signal a Powerful, Targeted Opportunity for Apartment Marketers

Recap by Paul Bergeron

Apartments.com held its Renter Insight & Emerging Media Forum in March featuring two days of consumer behavior trends, new and upcoming media innovations, and what's on the horizon in the media landscape.

Given the soaring growth in audio streaming and podcasting, apartment marketers can hear loud and clear the importance of having a holistic digital audio strategy to reach their coveted audiences.

In just the past eight years, growth in audio streaming is up 78%, and podcasting has exploded at a 208% increase – the classic upward hockey stick trend line.

Kyle Speckman, Director, Ad Innovation Sales, SXM Media, discussed trends and strategies during Apartments.com’s Renter Insight & Emerging Media Forum in March.

He talked about audio marketing’s growth, what works (and what doesn’t) for companies wanting to capitalize on the booming industry. Kyle emphasized the exciting opportunity for brands to align with top podcast content, but also the need to amplify host read podcast buying with a scaled audience-driven network approach. Digital audio offerings are evolving and to meet the demands of marketers in the space it is critical to have a holistic audio strategy.

Consumers’ Listening Made Easier

Advancing technology – with smart TVs and “Alexa” devices – and continued reliance on smartphone use are leading to listening-audience growth because consumers can listen, “right then and there and however they want,” he said.

Americans spend four hours a day with audio of any kind, music, streaming, etc., and with that audience listening to 21 more minutes compared to last year – a 9 percent increase.

“Marketers must learn how to tap into the trend of listening,” Speckman said. “Gen Z is the most crucial audience to appeal to because they grew up with smart phones. You have to meet them where they are. By 2025, almost a trillion dollars is projected to come from mobile commerce. You must have a mobile strategy.”

Digital audio is growing significantly, and today it accounts for 63.3% of all audio listening vs. 36.7% for AM/FM feeds.

Given behavioral changes established during the pandemic, tuning in while at home accounts for 60% of listening, and just 24% of it is done in a car or truck. Listening in the gym or grocery store accounts for 13.2% and of those listening from their offices, 9% are tuned in to a “news talk” format.

Our Brains Wired for Storytelling

Speckman, whose company owns Pandora, said it absolutely makes sense for advertisers to be on the top podcast shows, but because the top 1,000 shows make up 1% of total active shows it is critical to have a network strategy to compliment host-reads.

“Consumers are highly engaged when listening with podcasts,” he said. “Going back a century when Americans enjoyed storytelling around the campfire, our brains today are wired for hearing stories. That translates now to podcasting. We ‘lean in’ to listen because it’s more immersive. Quality is in the ears of the listener.”

Speckman said there’s 4.4x increase in brand recall with podcasts compared to a display ad. That’s important because the average consumer faces an average of 5,000 ads per day.

“You have to break through the noise and drive creative and interactive campaigns,” Speckman said.

One way is through “dollar-off” promos rather than “percent-off” promos, he said, because studies show that consumers respond better to those types of monetary offers.

He said to use a promo code or vanity URL on offers, but not both or neither. Also, 30% of consumers are more likely to buy from an ad that is personalized.

Therefore, targeting your audience with well-crafted apartment audio advertising – a channel that’s forecast to grow in the coming years — is one more aspect to a holistic marketing strategy and why audio should be included in within your media mix. 

To view this or any other Apartments.com Renter Insight & Emerging Media Forum session, please visit apartments.com/marchforum.