Australian Radio Network (ARN) can now better tailor audio advertising on its iHeartRadio platform thanks to the addition of AdsWizz technology.
In what it’s calling a local market radio broadcaster first for audio, advertisers can access audio streams, pre-roll video, banners and podcasts from next week. To facilitate buy side access the AdsWizz platform will be programmatic from launch.
Essentially it means the iHeartRadio app, which combines digital music and live radio streaming from across the network’s stations in one platform, can deliver more relevant marketing messages to the right people based on a listener’s location, demographics, interests and behaviours.
“This is the first time advertisers will be able to strategically reach online listeners of our radio brands via iHeartRadio, in addition to a full content suite of podcasts, online only radio stations and hundreds of pre-curated artist, genre and specialised stations on the iHeartRadio platform,” ARN CEO Rob Atkinson says.
The iHeartRadio in Australia, which launched a global app earlier this year powered by Optus, now has more than 820,000 registered users.
Atkinson says AdsWizz will work alongside complementary advertising and data support technology already in place across ARN brands, including data management platform Lotame, to further strengthen its offering to market.
AdsWizz CEO Alexis van de Wyer says its programmatic solutions cater to the growing appetite of many agencies, eager to start buying digital audio programmatically today.
“We are thrilled to partner with ARN to bring the Australian audio market solutions designed to improve both the listener experience and the impact of audio advertising for the brands," she says.
The audio streaming market has suffered several blows this year with the likes of Pandora axing all Australian operations and SoundCloud closing its physical office in Sydney.
However, Spotify, which runs its programmatic audio offering via The Trade Desk, seems to be going from strength to strength. From its personalised and branded playlists to inking a deal with AccuWeather to create playlists reflective of weather, the brand seems to have a firm grip on the market
Spotify wouldn't be drawn on the industry audio moves and how it's performing, but data and analytics company comScore says five million Australians visited Spotify’s mobile and desktop platforms in March 2017.
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