The Definitive Guide to Audio is Pandora’s annual flagship advertising report of the ever-evolving audio landscape. Each year’s guide contains vision and insights from industry experts in advertising on new and useful trends in audio, creative strategy, and so much more.
The 2020 Definitive Guide to Audio is hot off the press and ready to download. It’s a quick, engaging read—try it over tomorrow’s morning coffee—and to give you a taste of what’s inside, here are five key takeaways from the guide:
- A Third of our Waking Hours!For years we’ve cited research showing that Americans spend four hours per day with audio, on average. But here’s a twist: people who use digital audio spend one additional hour per day with audio. These five hours constitute nearly a third of our waking hours.
- Digital Dominates.As you might guess from the previous point, digital is quickly tipping the scales of the listening space. AM/FM still has a major presence in the landscape, but it’s no longer the dominant presence it was a few years ago. Among 18-54-year-old adults, the percentage of digital time spent (including streaming, podcasts, and satellite radio) has spiked from 38% in 2014 to 52% in 2019.
- Hats Off to Media Planning.Our panel of media experts is seeing a change in trends as digital takes over. There was a time when most creative energy was devoted to ads themselves, but now, planning, targeting, and segmentation yields the greatest efficiency and results. Media planners are now seeing this actually directing their creative executions.
- Say It in Six Seconds.Shorts ads are all the rage these days, but do they work? Surveys say yes, particularly for established brands. We did extensive experiments for creative ads in the guide—check out Chapter 2 to see the results.
- Cultivate Cultures.This year’s guide lists six trends that will impact audio and marketing in 2020, the first of which we call “Culture Club.” Think of culture not just as an ethnic background but also about behaviors and rituals. As one expert suggested, “be a brand that creates, continues, or advances a culture.”
There’s so much more in the 2020 Definitive Guide to Audio, so go ahead and follow the link, explore the multimedia experience (brand new this year!), and then download the Guide. As we move forward into the future, audio continues to be paramount for communicating with your customers. This Guide provides the strategy, tips, and insights to get you there.