Google has begun the global roll out of Digital Audio Ads on DoubleClick Bid Manager, letting advertisers send radio-style programmatic ads to Google Play Music, Spotify, SoundCloud, TuneIn and soon Pandora.
Bid Manager now offers customers the tools needed to reach audiences across a number of the most popular streaming services, including Google Play Music, Spotify, SoundCloud and TuneIn with Pandora coming soon.
Audio ads bought through DoubleClick help brands connect with people even when they aren’t engaged with the screen on their device.
Using Bid Manager to buy audio ads offers brands the opportunity to bring audio and digital campaigns together in one place, helping you connect with users in various moments throughout the day.
Zuzanna Gierlinska, Head of Programmatic, Europe at Spotify, said: “We are thrilled to see DoubleClick embracing programmatic audio. This launch makes it possible for Bid Manager customers to reach Spotify’s highly engaged audience across video, display and audio formats.”
The new audio ad capabilities arrive at a time of growing buyer demand for tailored audio solutions. Research from WideOrbit shows that 85% of US radio buyers are interested in buying audio ads in real-time to better reach their core consumers. Over half of US radio buyers believe that buying audio ads programmatically streamlines workflows and 75% believe it provides the benefits of real-time optimization and reporting.
DoubleClick customers are already seeing success with programmatic audio strategies. MightyHive used Bid Manager to access audio ads on Google Play Music, expanding the reach of its radio campaign. This strategy enabled the company to uncover new audiences for its Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) client and deliver over 7.5 million impressions and over 7,500 clicks across mobile web, desktop and app. With Bid Manager, MightyHive was able to find and reach their desired audience. The campaign achieved ad completion rates over 95% and drove a CTR of 0.11%.
Pete Kim, CEO, MightyHive, said: “Audio advertisements have long been an effective means to reach customers. Updating these ads for a programmatic world represents yet another significant step forward for our industry — creating opportunities to engage users in the right moments between screens. MightyHive is thrilled to be a pioneer in introducing this format to our clients.”
Chris Blackburn, Head of Global Sales and Partnerships, SoundCloud, added: “As a company whose foundation is in audio, we deeply understand the medium’s impact and recognize why it has quickly become the most personalized way for brands to connect with their audiences – including our own highly engaged and influential community of tastemakers. SoundCloud is thrilled to be working closely with DoubleClick at the forefront of the development of their audio programmatic solution. This is a huge milestone for the digital marketing industry and for the evolution of audio advertising.”