Stephen Haddad
The AdNews end of year Perspectives, looking back at 2024 and forward to next year.
Stephen Haddad, SCA Chief Operating Officer
This year has been one of industry-wide growth in audio listening, as economic factors and consumer behaviours continue to shift both the consumption and monetisation of digital audio. The result has been, predictably, an increase in advertising revenue, with the industry more broadly seeing podcast and streaming audio advertising spend up 23.6%. As such, it’s never been more important to focus on strategic planning, adaptability and digital innovation.
This growth across the industry, across podcast and streaming listening, as well as audio listening more broadly, has been felt across SCA too. We have seen pleasing growth in listening across all of our audio assets, but our LiSTNR business has tracked beyond our expectations from both a consumption and monetisation perspective with our digital audio revenue growing 42% in FY24, circa 8 million monthly unique listeners in the SCA ecosystem and LiSTNR boasting 2.25 million signed up users. We had the foresight to start building our audio ecosystem some years ago when the digital audio market in Australia was relatively immature and are now seeing the rewards of those investments as the market matures beyond our expectations with no signs of slowing.
Looking back on 2024, we saw significant progress across digital audio and a notable shift in how consumers engage with audio content. The steady rise of audio streaming, personalised listening experiences, and podcast consumption underscores a broader cultural shift in consumer behaviour - people want accessible, high-quality, and on-demand content that fits their routines and preferences. These growing revenue streams are reflective of the growth in advertising in podcasting more broadly in Australia, with IAB Australia’s latest Advertising Revenue Report finding that Podcasting stands out as the fastest-growing ad format in the country, up 26.5% year over year for the quarter. For SCA, these trends meant continually refining our digital platforms and developing our customer data strategy to exceed customer expectations.
As we have all felt - 2024 has also been a year of navigating the complexities brought on by economic uncertainty. Media buying behaviours adapted in response to tighter budgets and a cautious market – meaning many advertisers focused on achieving maximum impact with leaner budgets. LiSTNR enabled SCA to emphasise data-driven insights and deliver targeting solutions that maximise return on investment and reduce wastage. We were also able to offer highly cost-effective reach across our radio assets, given our significant presence across 55 markets nationally. So for us, 2024 saw us acutely focussed on doing more for our clients and business partners to support them in cycling out of economic uncertainty.
The Role of Technology and Data in Shaping Audience Engagement
Technology continues to redefine our industry, particularly through advancements in data, artificial intelligence, and programmatic advertising. As a former CIO, I’m watching these trends excitedly.
The importance of first-party data for media agencies and clients has never been more acute. With this, comes questions about data privacy and security, which will continue to be extremely important for all businesses, to keep up with changing consumer expectations and regulations. Privacy has always been and will always be a priority for SCA.
We have also seen firsthand how data enables us to make more informed decisions and deliver curated, hyper-relevant content. AI-driven content and recommendations are enhancing the personalisation on LiSTNR, data capabilities are enhancing advertising effectiveness and targeting, and programmatic audio buying has made it easier for advertisers to engage with specific audiences efficiently and at scale. In 2025, we’ll continue to prioritise data security and consumer privacy while finding innovative ways to deliver locally relevant content
Opportunities in the Audio Landscape for 2025
Looking ahead, my prediction is that in 2025 the players ready to innovate, surprise and delight customers will dominate. Digital audio will establish itself as a staple in the media mix driven by increased user adoption, particularly among younger audiences, and advancements in both data capability and ad tech that will make campaigns even more effective. With economic forecasts suggesting a potential rebound, albeit cautious, we expect renewed investment in media from brands looking to capitalise on improving consumer sentiment.
SCA is focused on harnessing these trends to deliver value for both our audience and advertisers. Premium audio advertising will play a prominent role in 2025, and we expect continued growth in voice-activated technology such as smart speakers and voice assistants become more ingrained in daily life. In fact, ownership of smart speakers in Australia has doubled over the last four years according to the latest Infinite Dial Australia 2024 study. LiSTNR is perfectly positioned to capitalise on those trends.
The industry is entering 2025 with opportunity ahead and momentum behind it. The players who innovate to deliver more and better for their listeners and clients will grow share and dominance in the market. We’re excited about the opportunities ahead and SCA is primed to lead the charge.
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