The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has published an updated guide to digital advertising for media buyers. The 21-page document charts the business ecosystem and clarifies its vocabulary for advertisers. The Digital Audio Buyer’s Guide – 2.0 is available as a free download here.
While no lead author is identified, the Guide is attributed to the IAB’s Digital Audio Committee, led by Jennifer Lane, the Industry Initiatives Lead for Audio (and formerly CEO of RAIN). The Digital Audio Committee is a consortium of 67 companies, some of them endemic to streaming audio (e.g. Pandora, Spotify, Triton Digital), and others more tangential (e.g. The New York Times). Radio groups (e.g. iHeartMedia, Cox Media Group) are represented, and also some podcast entities (e.g. PodcastOne, Libsyn, Wondery).
Unlike the previous edition of this reference guide, podcasting is included in the metrics, platforms, audience characteristics, terminology definitions, advertising types, and case studies described here. This bundling of audio categories which are often treated separately gives the target audience (advertisers) a more rounded view of the online audio marketing opportunity.
The Guide evangelizes digital audio generally, as might be expected, and starts out elucidating its value proposition:
• Large and Growing Audience
• Effective Reach with Mobile Consumers
• Audio Is On When Screens Are Not
• Favorable Demographics
• Measurable Impressions
• Strong Engagement
Ad types are described (including native and voice-activated ads), and a case study section describes six success stories, some detailed (e.g. specific advertiser results on Pandora and Spotify) and some more general (e.g. a description of GE’s The Message branded podcast).
In style the Guide is concise, ultra-clear, nicely organized, and carefully thought-out and edited. There are plenty of illustrative charts from multiple sources.