WELCOME TO
WHY WE EXIST
Audio Skills is a new company for a new era in audio.
Driven by innovative and ever-emerging technology, 30 million people now stream audio via multiple publishers on multiple devices…and those numbers are only going up. With that comes an incredible opportunity for brands to position themselves and to converse with their consumers in new spaces and in different ways; to enhance their brand and to drive sales. Audio Skills is here to help guide the willing through this new audio-focussed world. To educate on the technical capabilities, to advise on how best to meet objectives, and to create memorable, engaging audio that brands are proud of and their audiences love to listen to.
TOM WHITLOW
Audio Skills’ Director, Tom Whitlow, has been immersed in the world of audio for the last 15 years. He has worked as a creative for the two largest radio companies in the UK, spending the first half of his career in local advertising and the latter half working on campaigns for national, household brands. More recently he has worked with Social Chain as their Head of Podcasting.
Having been at the forefront of digital audio since its inception, Tom was one of the first in the country to go live with many of the products you will see below.
He is widely regarded as an expert in his field by his peers, national agencies, and industry bodies; having spoken at many RadioCentre, IAB, and MPA events on these subjects. Tom could chat about all things audio until the cows come home, so drop us a note below and he’ll be more than happy to talk about your project with you.
A NOTE ON CONTEXT
At Audio Skills, we can’t shut up about context…we love it, we want to marry it and have lots of contextually relevant babies! In fact, you should treat your audio like your baby. You want to see it thrive and achieve, to experience new things, to stand out from the crowd and have praise lavished upon it like some kind of doting/psychotic beauty-pageant parent! (Well maybe not that far…but sparking conversations about them would be nice and the odd award, of course).
None of which will happen if you use the same ad across all platforms.
We know from Radiocentre’s ‘Hear and Now’ study that tailoring your creative to the activity the listener is involved in at that moment boosts memory encoding, engagement, and salience. This can be from 20 – 70%, depending on how relevant you go. Which is consistent with other such studies, like the Newslink Recall Research.
We also know from DAX Listener ID studies that hyper-contextual dynamic ads can supercharge website visits and conversions and increase footfall.
And there are countless case studies on Spotify’s ‘Stream of Context’ page which further illustrate the power of relevancy.
So, if you want your ads to bring you maximum return and maximum love, you’ve got to make it personal to that individual, on that device, at that time, in that mood.
Here are a number of ways to help your baby flourish… (that’s enough of that analogy now.)
POCAST ADVERTISING
A passionate, engaged audience…an intimate environment…niche targeting opportunities. It’s no wonder 75% of brands expect to spend big in the podcast realm this year.
So let’s get it right! Audio Skills take into account the activity the listener is engaged in at the time, the type of podcast being listened to, and the unique podcast environment to make brands a helpful companion, a welcome distraction, or at the very least, a vibe enhancer…not vibe killer!
Services include:
STRATEGY
AD PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION
SCRIPT WRITING
RCC APPROVAL
CASTING
81%
of podcast listeners have taken action after hearing a podcast ad. Top actions include researching a product online, connecting with brand on social media, and talking about a brand with others.
15M
people listen to podcasts. 9m of which say they don’t stream any other audio
ONE IN THREE
people say they tune in to podcasts because they’re screenless.
SMART SPEAKER ADS
If your product is consumed at home, improves the home, is a service used at home, or involves leaving the home (think that covers everything!), then what are you waiting for?
We know the listener is at home, their location, the time of day and the activity they’re likely engaged in whilst listening. Making smart speaker advertising perhaps the most exciting contextual opportunity there is.
Not to mention, they’re ridiculously fun! Talk to the listener about the food (or lack of) in their fridge or cupboards, their car on the drive, the state of their living room, bedroom, bathroom, garden. Their kitchen appliances, who’s at the door, what the neighbours are up to…the list goes on.
Through exceptional creative, Audio Skills will present your brand as a lifestyle enhancer, or the solution to any problem in and around the home.
Services include:
SCRIPT WRITING
RCC APPROVAL
CASTING
AD PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION
40%
of homes now have a smart speaker.
10.3 HOURS PER WEEK
poeple listen longer on smart speakers. at 10.3 hours per week it beats all other audio platforms hands down
DYNAMIC AUDIO
One of our favourites and a staple for any brand looking to create something hyper-contextual and personal for their audience.
Dynamic audio allows you to tailor your creative to a specific moment and a specific person. Taking into account their location, age, gender, weather, behaviour, device type and much more, at the exact time of listening.
Proven to deliver a 52% uplift in recall, a 49% uplift in engagement and over twice as many conversions….think of dynamic audio as DR on steroids!
But be warned, scripting and recording in this space is pretty technical. With perhaps more dynamic campaigns under our belt than any other company in the UK, Audio Skills can show you how it’s done without losing any of the creativity…and without wasting money on amends.
Services include:
SCRIPT WRITING
RCC APPROVAL
CASTING
AD PRODUCTION & ALGORITHM SET UP
BINAURAL / 3D AUDIO
One of the many strengths of audio is its ability to help the listener picture their lives with your product. In the absence of visuals, our imagination
fills in the blanks; drawing on past experiences and our predictions for the future to create personal images that hit us right in the feels.
It should come as no surprise then that audio is a much higher driver of purchase intent than any other medium…because this is the exact same way our brains make a decision.
Binaural takes this to a whole new level by mimicking the human skull and recording sound exactly like our ears would hear it. Allowing them to not only picture the scene, but participate in it. “So what?” I hear you cry! Well, via neuroscience, we know that this can boost emotional response by 39%, memory encoding by 36% and consideration by a whopping 67%…plus, it sounds really cool. So that!
Services include:
SCRIPT WRITING
CASTING
LOCATION SOURCING & 'SET DESIGN'
PRODUCTION
RCC CLEARENCE & DISTRIBUTION
DID YOU KNOW
Audio skills have created a binaural soundscapes of pretty much everything. From families at the beach to surreal cat cafes. Picnics in the park to creepy torture scenes… and everything in between.
SMART SPEAKER SKILLS
…Or audio ‘apps’ if that’s easier.
There’s no denying it, smart speakers are here, smashing it, and will be around for a long, long time to come! The reason it’s become so popular?
It’s easy, fast, and much more natural than tapping a screen. For the forward-thinking, opportunities in this space are by the bucket-load; from voice-commerce to brand positioning and customer engagement (think App Store 12 years ago) …whilst the tardy risk being left behind.
Audio Skills can advise on how best to enter this new world, help determine your long-term strategy, and see it through to completion.
Services include:
SCRIPT WRITING
RCC APPROVAL
CASTING
AD PRODUCTOIN & DISTRIBUTION
ANALYTICS (TEST & EVOLVE)
60%
Nearly 60% of people think voice
assistants add convenience to their
daily life.
Source: ama.org
62%
of smart speaker owners say they
are likely to buy through it in the
next month.
Source: Google
72%
of people who own smart speakers
say the devices are part of their
daily routines.
Source: think with Google
34%
of Smart Speaker owners use skills monthly
Source: voicebot.ai
AUDIO BRANDING
“Thanks Audio Skills, we’ll have one of each of the above, please. But how do we make sure there’s brand consistency?”
You’re welcome, and glad you asked. In this new world where audio content now comes in all lengths and is consumed on multiple formats via
multiple publishers…and where attention levels dip in and out…it is essential to have a clear, instantly recognisable brand sound. Not having one is as crazy as mixing up your logo colours and typeface on your digital, print or outdoor ads.
But a ‘bing bong’ at the end of an ad is old school!
Let Audio Skills help create a brand sound that encompasses your values, can stand on its own two feet (without visuals) and can be adapted to
every consumer touchpoint (not just within your advertising) – to resonate with their values and mood within that given place and time. Because (I think I might have mentioned this) its all about context!
Services include:
RESEARCH & STRATEGY
AUDIO MOODBOARD
PRODUCTION
REFINEMENT & TESTING
ADAPTIONS & ROLL-OUT
MAJOR BRANDS
invested heavily into their brand sound recently, including HSBC and Mastercard.
RESEARCH INDICATES
consistent music, voice, and sonic logos as the key feature in successful audio ads. (See RadioCentre’s ‘Art into Science’ and ‘Strike a Chord’ studies for starters).
MOBILE AUDIO
How do you reach 30m people (or small and extremely niche audiences for that matter)
with a contextual audio ad, whilst they’re on their mobile and in sight of your click-through-
banner?? With an in-game ad of course!
The new and exciting ads only play when sound is on…have incredible LTRs and CTRs (listen-
through-rates and click-through-rates)…and better still, they don’t interrupt gameplay which
players love! Brands can even be a hero and build affinity by giving the player a bonus as a
thanks for listening!
Services include:
SCRIPT WRITING
RCC APPROVAL
CASTING
AD PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION
74%
of 18-24 year olds play mobile
58%
of females play mobile
57%
of parents play mobile