In the just released Audio Measurement Playbook, a detailed guide and lesson-book for measuring ROI with digital audio, produced by SiriusXM Media, the argument starts defensively:
“Think audio is only an awareness tactic with so-so measurement options? Think again.”
Sirius furnishes assistance for re-thinking with a powerful array of audience statistics focused on audience size, time spent, attentiveness, and memory impact:
Many research decks produced by tech, content, and advertising companies save the pitch for the final few slides. But Sirius is less diffident, explaining its own services and audience reach starting in the third slide. No judgment here, as we observe detailed explanations of the company’s streaming network, podcast network, and the core audio service in slide #3. We learn the following metrics:
- 160M monthly listeners
- 92M streaming audio listeners…
- … of which 87 percent are ad-supported
- 2,500 shows in the SiriusXM Podcast Network
- 60 million podcast listeners
- 33 million subscribers to SiriusXM…
- …which carries 72 ad-supported stations.
What and How
In two knowledge-packed slides Sirius explains what they measure on behalf of advertisers, and how they measure it. On the “what” side of things these characteristics are promised:
- Audibility
- Viewability
- Fraud / Invalid Traffic
- Audience Verification
- Brand Safety / Suitability
For the question of how SiriusXM measures ad quality in each of the above four categories, a dauntingly dense slide is better shown than described:
Sources for all the above include Edison Research, dentsu and Lumen Research, Pandora, ComScore, Triton Digital, and the company’s internal metrics.
Much More
There is a tutorial aspect to this presentation. We learn about:
Measurement Fundamentals. How to factor audio into the overall media mix. Media Mix Modeling (and its three flavors), Attribution, and the Lookback Window. Many detailed pages offer a fairly dense curriculum of digital audio advertising best practices.
A final section is about effectiveness,with tips for testing targeting, frequency, and creative messaging across upper, mid, and lower funnels.
It’s not a deck for the daunted. Get it directly HERE. Bring coffee.
