Advertising technology business Say It Now is planning to use creative influencers including podcast hosts to promote ‘actionable ads’ as part of the next phase of its business, according to its CEO Charles Cadbury.
Say It Now’s technology is based on creating so-called ‘actionable audio ads’, which allow audiences to interact with their smart speakers to learn more about the ads that they’re listening to and take further actions such as visiting the sponsor’s website, booking appointments, or buying a product.
Cadbury said that when the call to action is delivered by the podcast host themselves, their voice is able to stick in the listener’s mind, and makes it easier for them to take action instantaneously.
“It’s easier at some point in the future - or at that very moment - for the listener to just say ‘Alexa, open podcast host offers’ for example, and that podcast host can then direct them to the sponsor page or whatever other call to action they want them to do,” Cadbury told PodPod. “So what we’re doing is allowing another channel to engage with the podcast hosts.”
In addition to working with brands on creating actionable ads, Say It Now also uses data tracking technology to allow companies to see their campaign’s engagement in real time. The company also stated that having that visibility allows for less media wastage as the companies can improve and optimise their campaigns mid-flight.
The announcement was made yesterday by Cadbury as part of the presentation of Say It Now’s first ever Voice Marketing Industry Benchmark Report, which the company plans to update again in November and release quarterly thereafter.
According to its benchmark report, Say It Now has seen a 10x increase in conversion over the past two years since it started running actionable ad campaigns, in terms of voice-through rates and goal conversion. Companies that it has worked with so far include Pizza Hut, Tesco, The Lion King Musical, Subaru, and a collaboration between Magic Radio and travel specialists On The Beach - all of which saw at least 25 second brand dwell time.
The company stated that it will eventually be working on patenting the technology to give advertisers the option to make every ad actionable by just clicking a button and placing their call to action. The company also plans to expand to TV-based actionable ads rather than just digital audio, in order to reach the 11 million homes which are connected to CTV.
