Communicorp Partners with Adforce.com to Deliver Digital Audio Ads in Ireland

As the appetite for digital audio consumption gathers pace, one of Ireland’s premier media companies is poised to take advantage of this trend with the launch of a new digital audio advertising offering.

Communicorp is teaming up with leading digital advertising network, Adforce.com, to deliver ad campaigns to listeners of its digital audio platforms. These include live and on-demand radio broadcasts and podcasts for Today FM, Newstalk, Spin1038, Spin SW and 98FM.

Deborah Carpenter, Head of Solutions and Insights at Communicorp said: “The collaboration with Adforce is a first for the radio industry in Ireland and we are delighted to have brought this innovation to the Irish market. Radio has always been a high-engagement medium and digital audio takes this to a new level because of the customisation and control it offers. The launch represents an exciting opportunity for the radio and media industry. We selected Adforce.com for its proven track record in identifying pioneering digital advertising opportunities and helping broadcasters maximise revenues across these.”

As the exclusive sales representative for Communicorp’s digital audio advertising, Adforce.com will connect advertisers to highly targeted streaming audio listeners using pre-roll and in-stream ad formats operated by Triton Digital, the leading technology provider for the audio industry with which Adforce.com recently agreed a partnership.

Unlike FM ads, multiple digital audio ads can run simultaneously to cater for different target listeners making this a first-to-market opportunity for advertisers and clients alike.Audio ads can be delivered in sync with companion display ads served on the device, allowing a brand’s message to be simultaneously seen and heard.

Another key innovation in digital audio advertising is voice-activated audio formats that allow people to engage with ads during locked-screen moments such walking, driving, commuting. From requesting a coupon to adding a calendar event, a user can trigger a range of different actions using their voice.

In the US, in the first quarter of 2016 more than 84.43 million adults listened to audio streaming on smartphones up from 67.62 million adults for the same quarter last year. The younger demographic was responsible for much of that spike, with a smartphone audio streaming audience that grew from 28.05 million to 34.65 million. (Nielsen, July 2016).

Streaming audio on smartphones for all adults is showing impressive growth, from 3.92 billion gross minutes to 6.24 billion minutes (Nielsen, July 2016)

67% of 18-37 yr olds listen to online radio each month.  (IPSOS MRBI Irish Audio Landscape, September 2015)

Streaming audio is a top activity for 79% of smartphone users (Comscore and Millennial Media, 2014)

Speaking of the deal, Rob Kinsella, Director of Sales at Adforce.com commented: “The advertising potential of digital audio has remained largely untapped by radio broadcasters in Ireland, until now. Communicorp will be the first to market in Ireland with in-stream advertising customised for digital audio listeners and we are delighted to be working with them in rolling this out. Research after research points to the same conclusion: digital audio is growing and the creative available now in the audio space is much more innovative and emotionally impactful than ever before. Not only are more people listening to digital audio, they are also listening for longer periods. The takeaway for marketers is that digital audio should be considered an essential part of every integrated marketing campaign.”