I like the title of the report: Understanding Your Brain on Sound. If you are deep into radio production, this article from Spotify will be of interest. In the hands of a smart ad salespeople the report (along with it’s authoritative-looking brain maps) will be a strong sales tool. It suggests that an audio ad on Spotify is more effective than an ad on any other medium. But, of course. “The Responsive Chord” a book by the renowned ad-man and media guru Tony Schwartz explained near as much when it was published in 1973. The bottom line is: Radio advertising is surpassed in effectiveness only by one other thing, that a being word-of-muth recommendation from another person.
As we read this Spotify sales-tool, when we see an ad is likely to have more impact there than on broadcast (or internet) radio, keep in mind the use of the word “engagement”. That means ‘participation’ in the experience, or ‘active’ listening. Of course, a listener’s brain will be more likely to remember the ad if it comes him/her as they interact with their playlists. They can rearrange and skip songs on Spotify. actively controlling it to an extent. The ad is more likely to ‘stick’ if it comes when our minds are actively participating with the medium of delivery. To that extent, Spotify is comparing apples to oranges here. A Spotify listener can click the ad-link and that “proves” the ad is successful. A radio listener can’t do that.
The other thing we don’t know and should consider is: How was the sample taken? How did they compare “engagement” between broadcast listening which is a ‘passive’ activity and Spotify listening that provides an ‘active’ listening experience?
The bottom line on the report is that, once again, it offers evidence that audio advertising gives the best bang-for-the-buck. For a deeper dive, the Tony Schwartz book is out of print but can still be found on Amazon and Ebay.
