Audio advertisements, affectionately called audio ads, are one of the best ways for companies to market their products and services to a large audience. Using a voice over on those audio ads helps convey the idea.
Whether you’re releasing an audio ad on a podcast, radio station, or another form of media, knowing the fundamentals is the first step to creating a good one; the first question usually is, “How long should an audio ad be?”
In this article
- What Are Audio Ads?
- Average Audio Ad Length
- History of Audio Ads
- Uses of Audio Ads
- Voice Over’s Role in Audio Ads
- Cool Examples of Audio Ads
- Uber
- Honda
- Final Thoughts
If you’re wondering what the average length of your audio ad should be, we’re here to help. Here’s everything you could want to know about audio ads and more.
What Are Audio Ads?
So, what exactly is an audio ad? Audio ads are advertisements that only have audio, no pictures. You’ll commonly hear audio ads on radio stations, streaming services, and podcasts.
Audio ads will feature a voice or multiple voices that will promote a specific product, brand, or service. They tend to be persuasive since they rely on audio to sell the product or service.
These types of advertisements can vary in composure. Some are long, and some are short. They can be serious, feature catchy jingles, or whatever the creator wants them to sound like.
Average Audio Ad Length
The average audio ad length is only 15 to 30 seconds long; they’re short, sweet, and to the point.
History of Audio Ads
We can trace the origins of audio ads back to when radio broadcasting was a dominant media form. In the 1920s and 1930s, audio ads were prevalent. It was the best way to reach a massive audience, so brands seized the opportunity to record audio ads in a mass media effort.
Throughout the years, the format of audio ads has evolved to fit the times. From using better equipment to reflecting changes in the world’s technology. As time passed, audio ads became less dominant but still helped promote services and products.
Audio ads have started to take a more dominant role in advertising again as podcasts rise in popularity. Today, audio ads greatly influence how companies market their brand, product, and services.
Uses of Audio Ads
One of the best things about audio ads is their many different uses. These are some of the most popular uses for audio advertisements right now:
- Targeted Advertising: For those who want to target specific audiences, you can use audio ads to target people based on their behavior, demographics, and interests.
- Product Promotion: You can promote a specific product with audio advertisements. These are great when you want your audience to buy something specific from your brand.
- Brand Awareness: These ads can help you build your brand’s recognition. When people hear your audio ads, they’ll start to recognize your brand more, allowing for more sales.
- Event Promotion: You’ll often hear companies, musicians, and more promote their events via audio ads, and they’re ideal for festivals, concerts, and other performances.
- Direct Response Advertising: When you want responses from your audience, direct response advertising via audio ads is helpful.
- Public Service Announcements: People can use audio ads for public service announcements about health issues, charitable causes, and environmental conservation.
- Political Advertising: During elections, you’ll hear a lot more political advertising talking about candidates’ campaigns and issues and raising awareness for voters.
Voice Over’s Role in Audio Ads
The idea behind audio ads is the voice or voices that convey whatever the message is. Voice overs are arguably the most essential part of an audio ad. Here are some roles that voice overs play in audio ads:
- They Deliver the Ad: First and foremost, the voice over delivers the ad’s message.
- Tone and Mood: Voice overs set the tone and mood of the advertisement. They can convey excitement, humor, urgency, and whatever other emotion or style you want for the audio ad.
- Listener Connection: The person in charge of the voice over will be what the listener does or doesn’t connect with. Without pictures, you can only rely on voice overs to create a connection.
- It Differentiates Your Brand: When you use a specific voice actor to do the voice overs, you’ll start to have a recognizable brand with a memorable voice.
Voice overs are the lifeline of all audio ads. When creating an audio advertisement, choosing the right voice over actor or actors for the job can make or break how well your advertising does.
The best audio ads will choose the right voice over actor for the job because if they don’t, they might not see the success of whatever they’re promoting.
Cool Examples of Audio Ads
Even if you can’t think of any brands that have unique audio ads off the top of your head, you’ve probably heard dozens of them before. To give you a better idea, we’re found some excellent examples of audio ads that have done well and people tend to remember.
Uber
Uber released an audio ad that resonates with people. The ad features keyboard sounds that mix with fun music, depicting nightlife. The audio ad concludes with a persuasive call to action and states, “Your night awaits. You Uber awaits,” trying to get people to order an Uber on their night out.
Honda
We love the audio ad for Honda E. It’s the company’s electric car that comes with features everyone will love. The audio ad utilizes different car horns to showcase different cities around the world.
Final Thoughts
Audio advertisements have grown in popularity recently thanks to people listening to podcasts and radio more again. Voice overs are the lifeline of audio ads because they carry along the story each ad is telling.
Voice overs are powerful tools and will allow you to convey whatever you want in your audio ad. They’re powerful,persuasive and can have significant impacts when they’re done correctly for a brand, product, or service. Whether you record your own or hire a professional voice over actor, you need one for a successful audio ad.
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