Marketers are losing out on the biggest opportunity in digital, AUDIO – by Rahul Vengalil

I have been using Gaana via web & app since Sept 2015 and it was only recently, with the launch of Amazon music that I moved out of Gaana. What intrigued me a lot though was my personal statistics that Gaana once showed me, where I was consuming over 2Hrs of music on their platform on a average. It was surprising because I never knew I was using so much of their Audio Service. And mind you, I was using the free version, which means it had ads 🙂

This made me think about the various context in which I used to play gaana.com

1. Until I started swimming lessons last week, I used to play “Audio” for ~60 min for my workout, running as well as weight training. I used to do this for 5-6 days a week, an opportunity of 300-360Min each week, with no deficit of attention other than music & burning fat (hopefully)
2. I play “Audio” in office, while working on presentations, while writing this very entry on most days. This is not for 20 or 30 min, but for over 3-4hrs at a stretch
3. I play “Audio” when I am cooking on a lazy Sunday, again for over 2 hours
4. I play “Audio” while driving, and I drive for a long time in Bangalore 🙂
5. I play “Audio” when there is house parties at home, which is typically weekends
6. I play “Audio” when I decide to do nothing but read a book from the library

Off late, I have also been asking Google Assistant to set up my reminders, which is more than once a day, ask Google Assistant to make my calls every ones in a while and also started sending voice messages via Whatsapp.

An average Joe like me, who believes that I do not have much time at hand, has spent over few hours each day with Audio Medium, and that’s the opportunity that marketers have missed out to reach to me in various ways. Did I also tell you that I cook & have house parties at home? All those are opportunities that were missed out. Do you know how many brands have engaged with me using this medium? All of one, that’s GOODDAY, which has a jingle during the morning runs.

Video maybe the future of active engagement among the consumers, but “Audio” will never go out of scope. Audio as an advantage that no other medium has today, IT LETS YOU MULTI-TASK. There was a recent report which estimated that the next set of growth is going to come from AUDIO. Only 76% of the Indians are literate and in internet, there is always an input which today is via alphabets. There are a billion mobile users in India, who will embrace digital platforms soon, but how are they going to do the input on their smart phones? Indic test doesn’t matter because they do not know how to type at all.

The usage of audio in the marketing mix should only have one aim & that is to create a better user experience. For that to happen, the marketers should start understanding the consumers & their actions better. The context on which they are using “Audio” to engage and provide a solution here. The enhancement on user experience can range from information broadcast, response or engagement, learn a new skill, purchase, etc.

Some use cases in the current ecosystem of Music Apps & Owned Apps, which can be achieved with min investment include but not limited to.

1. Runners can be targeted with regular updates everyday. Any music app will have the data on the kind of playlist that are being played. DO NOT GO FOR SCALE HERE. GO FOR FREQUENCY ON SMALL SCALE
2. Effectively use Music Apps & CRBT in the morning period to send reminders that is contextual
3. Effectively use Music Apps & CRBT in the afternoon period, lunch period for reminders, announcements
4. Create a segment with Music Apps for migrant population to learn about new places, culture
5. Create a language segment with Music Apps & CRBT for migrants & frequency travellers
6. Commuters spend couple of hours on the travel everyday, create customised location based communication for them
7. eCommerce apps like Flipkart had/has voice search. Build on it, customising it for rural India would be the icing on the cake
8. Engage with student community with arts & crafts segment, DIY segments using podcasting.
9. Create self improvement or DIY segments for Students & Professionals, podcasting.
10. Engage with home-makers with DIY segments. I recall the cooking sequence in the Malayalam movie Boeing Boeing, podcasting.
11. Education Apps can create podcast to engage with kids & parents during exam season, admission season, etc
12. Convert the live sports channel to audio segment if possible, a radio equivalent. Remember the Baby Boomers walking around with Radios to be updated about the score?

Marketers, can arrive at much more use cases to engage with the consumers across their AUDIO consumption. Whatever you do, do not invest in banners for music apps, it doesn’t really make sense. Consumers are multi-tasking and marketers are paying for 0 eyeballs, just impressions.

AUDIO as a medium is passive in nature, ie, marketers should look at frequency of reaching & engaging over carpet bombing. The more you are able to engage with the consumer, the easier it would be to change their perception.

To conclude, I would say that there is a huge potential for brands to leap into the audio platform & have the first movers advantage. Pretty soon, we can see this space exploding beyond imagination and it would be too little too late by then.

Authored BY Rahul Vengalil