Strong NZ audio landscape offers advertisers greater opportunity

Given the high affinity Kiwis have for audio – especially radio and podcasts – there’s plenty opportunity for advertisers to reach engaged and growing audiences.

One of the observations from The Radio Bureau commissioned ‘Infinite Dial New Zealand’ survey, is that audio in all its forms, is extremely vital in New Zealand.

This is reflected in the results of the survey which suggest that New Zealand AM/FM radio listenership is higher than that of the US, Canada, and Australia, with 73 percent of respondents saying that they listened to the radio (over-the-air or online) in the past week.

“The strength of the New Zealand audio scene was really a big find in our survey. Radio listening is certainly up there, with New Zealand and Australia two of the strongest countries when compared to other markets, and just behind the UK at 81 percent of people 16+ listening in the past week,” explains Peter Richardson, General Manager of The Radio Bureau.

When it comes to podcasts, in the past month 39 percent of Kiwis have listened to at least one, with New Zealanders listening to an average of five podcasts weekly. This again ranks highly when compared to markets such as the US, Canada, UK and Australia.

When it comes to the type of content we’re consuming, Richardson says “there’s a thirst for news, which we can also see in terrestrial radio with the strength of our news and talk stations.”

With a high propensity for consuming audio across several media, including smart phones, Kiwis are comfortable being reached wherever and whenever. This, coupled with the high affinity for radio and podcasts, has its benefits for advertisers looking to reach the ears of engaged listeners.

“Things are changing in the audio landscape, and digital is a much bigger part of the equation now than it was five years ago. This is reflected in the survey by how much people are using digital to open a lot of new opportunities and capabilities that traditional legacy broadcasting can’t quite offer, so that’s the big impact, and opportunity for advertisers,” adds Larry Rosin, Edison Research President – the brains behind the survey.

“The ability to dynamically insert ads to target more precisely, whether it’s geographic targeting or demographic targeting, really has opened advertisers to a whole new world. Digital audio is taking its stand in that space and putting forward a much more compelling argument to advertisers that it should be part of the buy,” he says.

Rosin says that while advertisers are making all kinds of display, web and video ads – which are extremely well-developed – getting more advertisers to use these capabilities in audio and understand how powerful they can be, given the uptake of new media technologies, is the main motivation behind the survey.

“[The survey exists] to help advertisers understand how much listening there is and how many changes are happening in this industry, that there are new ways for them to talk to their customers and make the sale,” he says.

Click here to learn more about The Infinite Dial New Zealand research and keep an eye out for more articles published daily across Radio Week (November 21-25), as part of our exclusive content series in partnership with The Radio Bureau.

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