After success in digi marketing, Brightcom explores audio

Hyderabad: HYDERABAD-based Brightcom Group, a digital marketing and software development company, is all set to foray into $4.2 billion digital audio medium. Digital audio is the second most popular activity involving about 204 million listeners in the US alone.

"Digital audio is the ultimate multitasking media channel where nearly 50 per cent of millennials and GenZ listen to digital content while doing their daily chores. As more users are joining the bandwagon, advertisers are following the users," the company said in a media release.

The Brightcom has increased its publisher strength from 10,000 publishers to 47,000 publishers in just two years. Brightcom's ads.txt is currently implemented on more than 47,000 websites. The direct accounts stand at 89,704. The company has a major market share of 4.5 per cent and a reseller accounts of 10,098 users. These strengths give enough confidence to the company to foray into digital audio space, it added.

With two-thirds of podcast consumers tuning in on a mobile device, most of them listen to podcasts while multitasking, give tremendous opportunities for brands and advertisers. They also have the most loyal listeners with 21 per cent listening to 4-podcasts a week and even more (31 per cent) listening to six or more podcasts a week. No wonder then that YouTube announced a 15-second audio ad unit, and Spotify too has indicated publicly that there is a huge growth opportunity in the conversion of broadcast radio revenue into digital streaming.

Online listeners consume audio content through the Internet for about 30 minutes a day on an average, which is way beyond the average consumption of all other media formats, according to a media release here.

In digital audio advertising, for instance, audio spots of up to 40 seconds are distributed between traditional and online audio. "However, audio publishers need to develop digital strategies that identify and involve their audiences. The digital audio inventory is a valuable asset to publishers that seek to develop innovative and attractive experiences for users and advertisers. This is where Brightcom hopes to make a difference," the company said. Programmatic audio is utilising technology in a way to automate the selling and insertion of ads in digital audio content such as AM/FM radio and music-streaming services. It has seen tremendous success in other forms of advertising. Players such as Spotify, are hopeful for their potential in audio as well.