Retargeting Digital Audio Audiences
Very few consumers will purchase a product the first time they see an ad for it. Maybe they don’t have time at that exact moment to click a link or visit a website. Perhaps – particularly in the case of buying a car- they want to do more research or even consult with their partner before financially committing.
As an advertiser, it is important to have strategies in place to remain front of mind, throughout the consideration phase of the purchasing journey, in order to ensure you capture those customers when they are ready to convert. Retargeting is one such strategy for this.
In this age of digital advertising, we are able to capture data from the moment a customer visits a website, or is presented with a campaign. We can tell if they have shown interest in an ad, and are then able to “follow them” whenever they are online, popping up with promotions that remind them of our brand and the products they liked.
There is no doubt you would have experienced this for yourself, where after searching online for, for example, a new pair of sneakers, you then start to see ads for the same or similar shoes every time you visit a website or are on social media. This is retargeting in action.
Previously we have discussed the growing popularity of digital audio. With millions of people streaming content into their ears across a week, it is no surprise that this space is ripe for advertisers. Listeners of digital audio tend to do so when they can be fully engaged in music or podcasts, meaning they are an ideal audience for targeted ads. Such campaigns become all the more powerful, however, when they include second-screen retargeting.
Second-screen retargeting is where a digital audio campaign is presented to a customer for a specific product or brand. That same customer is then retargeted with display advertisements for the same product or brand on other websites or apps. This technique is proven to increase brand awareness, as well as the likelihood that listeners will respond to the call to action.
There are numerous benefits to running a campaign that incorporates both digital audio and second-screen retargeting. Advertisers have witnessed an increase in their conversion rates from their stand-alone digital audio ads, given the reinforcement of their campaign’s call to action. The impact of these multi-faceted campaigns can be as much as four times higher than is obtained running digital advertising on its own. Through effective reporting methods, incorporating second-screen retargeting also gives a clearer view of campaign performance, enhancing the marketer’s decision-making processes for future ad spend.
CASE STUDY
One of our clients, a personal watercraft provider, wanted to increase brand awareness and product recall in the lead-up to summer. The aim of their advertising campaign was to drive traffic to a custom landing page targeting an audience in close proximity to waterways and areas commonly known for personal watercraft usage. The campaign strategy was to first present users with digital audio ads that invited them to “shake” their device to open a website link for more information. Those same customers were then retargeted online using companion display ads that appeared on websites they visited.
This internationally award-winning campaign drove some impressive results for our client, with an increase in the brand’s website traffic of 108 percent compared to the same period the previous year. Total website conversions increased by 43 percent and the campaign landing page itself achieved a conversion rate of 23 percent.
Diversifying your marketing budget to incorporate a variety of advertising channels is key to generating the best return on investment. Further to this though, our recommendation is to employ a strategy that capitalises on the power and efficacy of stand-alone digital audio and display advertising by combining the two. Utilising second-screen retargeting will enable you to capture those customers who are “still thinking about it” after hearing your digital audio ad, and lead them down the path toward conversion.