ARN’s commercial offering has been further strengthened with the launch of ARN Dynamic Audio – something the broadcaster is calling a world-first dynamic advertising technology that delivers more personalised and measurable campaigns for ARN’s radio clients.
The technology sees ARN become the first and only media business in the world to have the capability to provide dynamically targeted advertising on AM, FM and DAB+ radio in real time, ensuring the messaging is relevant, engaging and timely.
This global breakthrough was developed in partnership with A Million Ads, a world-leader in dynamic audio technology. ARN is the exclusive production partner of A Million Ads in Australia, having already successfully implemented their dynamic technology across the iHeartRadio Australia app.
ARN said Dynamic Audio goes beyond what all standard production techniques used in the market can currently offer and delivers time-saving, cost-effective, automated and simple solutions for clients. As well as being more personalised, ARN Dynamic Audio gives advertisers a better way to measure and account for the success of their radio campaigns using real-time data.
Research has shown that compared to non-targeted messaging, this new technology delivers a 52% uplift in advertisement recall, a 49% increase in engagement and a 240% increase in customer conversions.
The rollout of ARN Dynamic Audio, across AM, FM, DAB+ and iHeartRadio, is part of ARN’s long-term strategy to expand and diversify its comprehensive commercial offering for clients with more personalised creative campaigns. Another key part of this strategy is the use of the interactive ShakeMe audio advertising technology. Giving clients the unique ability to empower audiences to connect with their ad by responding immediately to a call to action either by shaking their mobile phone or using a voice command, ShakeMe technology is the next evolution in audio advertising.
ARN’s chief commercial officer Pete Whitehead (pictured) said: “ARN’s implementation of ARN Dynamic Audio via our partnership with A Million Ads is revolutionary. Never before has a media company been able to automatically deliver tailored advertising to radio audiences in real time, but that is exactly what ARN can now do. We can help advertisers send the right message, to the right audience at the right time… in real time. This technology can be applied by ARN for any client across any industry, whether it’s a retail business who want to advertise a sale or a food delivery business who has a new menu item they want their customers to try. The increased conversion of personalised, real-time messaging is undisputed and will radically change the way we help our clients connect with audiences, through AM, FM, DAB+ and iHeartRadio.”
Steve Dunlop, founder and CEO of A Million Ads said: “Personalisation is the next frontier in advertising so it’s great to be able to bring it to ARN’s broadcast platforms as well as streaming and podcasts. Partnering with ARN was an obvious choice for us as they share our vision of a personalised future, driven by data and great creative that helps clients stand out.”
On the implementation of ShakeMe technology, Whitehead said: “What is so exciting about the ShakeMe technology for our clients is we have removed all barriers that usually come following traditional advertising’s call to action. For example, a person listening to an ad for a new car can now simply shake their phone or give a voice command to open a website, get directions to their nearest dealership or even call the dealership directly – making it easier than ever for our advertisers to ‘close the loop’. A listener doesn’t even have to unlock their phone or look at their screen to access an advertiser’s offer.
“ARN is committed to constant evolution of our commercial solutions for clients. Both of these new technologies allow ARN to deliver more innovative, creative, dynamic advertising campaigns than ever before and are a key part of our ongoing strategy to increase the diversity of our 360 degree offering for clients.”
ARN’s CEO Ciaran Davis added: “In the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis, all shows across our network were able to instantly adapt the content they were creating for their audiences and advertisers. Only audio has the capacity to turn around new messaging within hours for clients and leverage the genuine connection radio talent have with their audiences.
“With people staying home in unprecedented numbers, there has been a significant growth in audio consumption, as measured with data released by Commercial Radio Australia, from research by podcast platform Megaphone, and from ARN’s iHeartRadio. ARN is retaining audiences for longer, enabling brands to seamlessly integrate across Australia’s most complete audio offering across digital, on-demand and broadcast. This includes across the iHeartPodcast Network which has more than 30 million monthly Australian impressions across international, local and catchup podcasts. These are bolstered by our Run of Genre ad offering and are all host-voiced to enhance the listening experience and geo-targeted to Australian listeners.
“As an industry-leading media business and the #1 national radio network, no matter the market conditions, ARN will continue to define audio as it adapts and strengthens both its content and commercial offering and solutions for clients.”