Estée Lauder launched an audio campaign for its new fragrance Beautiful Magnolia. The spot focuses on four love stories depicted in the ad. The name of the brand is briefly mentioned at the beginning and the end of the ad. Until now luxury products have been promoted by their look or feeling. Values-based marketing is on the rise as podcasts gain popularity and luxury brands are trialling new, more experimental and creative storytelling to reach that audience. Especially advertising in podcasts audio ads allow brands to reach a loyal audience of a show using creative storytelling which is natural to the format. It appears that luxury brands are starting their adventure with this long-overlooked advertising channel.

Jenny Barish, senior director of business development and strategy at Will Media, said:

“Luxury marketing is usually about showcasing the product through a sexy print campaign. It’s taken a while for brands to understand the inherent value of audio and how that connection to the audience is very different”.

It’s easy to notice that the audio advertising world is constantly developing. As stated in the article in Vogue Business:

“The data shows there’s growth: US podcasting ad revenue rose 19 per cent to $842 million last year and is forecast to surpass $2 billion by 2023, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Digital audio advertising is also growing: investment in digital audio rose by 17 per cent in 2020 and, within that, podcasting spend was up by 43 per cent, according to the IAB’s 2021 digital ad spend report”.

According to marketers, the medium is cheaper than TV or print advertising campaigns but requires a willingness to take creative risks and collaborate with external writers, hosts, and audio producers.

Lisa Howard, senior vice president of media at The New York Times, whose branded content studio T Brand created the Estée Lauder audio ad said that:

“Audio is a unique format that doesn’t require ‘passive scrolling’. It’s intimate, emotional, uncluttered and requires real listening”.

There has recently appeared one additional capability of audio advertising that is a real game-changer in our opinion. It’s probably a strong argument for luxury brands to initiate their interest in audio marketing. What we mean are obviously interactive ads. The opportunity to tempt our recipients by interacting with an ad and by the possibility to order free samples using only their voices sounds like a step into the future. We’re sure these influential brands want to keep up so as not to be left out in this advertising marathon. 

We’re happy to hear that as we offer interactive audio campaigns ourselves. If you want your ads to talk to your potential customers, just click here.

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