ARN has further strengthened its commercial offering, with the evolution of its Dynamic Audio proposition. Dynamic Audio 2.0 gives brands access to ARN’s audio assets with contextual integration, all backed by new, in-house neuroscientific research.
ARN launched Dynamic Audio in May 2020 making it the first media business in the world to provide dynamically targeted advertising on AM, FM and DAB+ radio that could be measured in real time. The launch was part of ARN’s long-term strategy to diversify its commercial offering for clients.
Dynamic Audio now gives brands access to dynamic sponsorship of news, weather, sport, traffic plus fuel updates, entertainment and other content segments across ARN. Working with ARN, brands can tailor ads in real time to optimise performance, effectively achieving the personalisation of digital at the scale of broadcast radio.
ARN’s head of audio product & innovation, Adam Williams (pictured) said, “After delivering this world-first to the market last year, Dynamic Audio has already been a phenomenal success story for ARN’s business. The reaction from advertisers has been superb as it’s allowed us to deliver far superior connection to our client’s customers resulting in higher commercial returns for their businesses. This 2.0 evolution allows us to provide even more opportunities to integrate our clients on air with messages that are contextually relevant to the audience at the moment they hear them.”
Testing the efficacy of Dynamic Audio has also been taking place in ARN’s Neuro Lab. ARN launched Neuro Lab in late 2020, investing in an in-house neuroscientific research team. This investment to understand the role of audio and its influence on people was developed to assist advertisers to make informed choices about how they can best take advantage of audio.
Neuro Lab’s testing on the Dynamic Audio format shows brain activity that indicates increased attention and positive attitude when compared to standard advertising.
Led by research and neuroscience specialist, Dr Shannon Bosshard, and ARN’s director of research and insights, Justin Stone, the study measured attention, engagement, attitude, and memory by mapping brain activity of people listening to Dynamic Audio content and a standard ad.
Bosshard said research has shown an individual’s brain recognises relevant content and increases attention accordingly. The current study showed areas of the brain responsible for attending to audio-based advertising were 109% more active during a Dynamic Audio ad format than during a standard ad.
The study also split the ads into 10 millisecond windows and measured positive attitudes during each window. On average, there was a 10% uplift of positive attitude during each window of the Dynamic Audio ad with peaks being on average, 53% higher than when exposed to a standard ad.
Bosshard said, “This type of research allows for a profound understanding of ARN’s listeners. The research clearly demonstrates that audio can be used to create unique, and personalised listening experiences, even within an ad break. As individuals are exposed to content, the brain has to decide what information is important, and filter out anything that is irrelevant. Dynamic audio is a simple, yet effective way of increasing advertising relevance. This research shows that when a brand gets this combination right, and relevance is elevated, the consumers’ liking for the content and the attention that they pay, increase significantly.”