Q & A: Why Audio is Effective for Direct-to-Consumer Campaigns

If you’re a direct-to-consumer brand, chances are that you need your media to do some serious work: informing consumers, establishing trust, building relationships, and driving sales. And leveraging influential figures (like podcast and SiriusXM hosts) allows advertisers to do all that—and more—by tapping into the host-listener relationship.

A big piece of the “and more” comes from the power of layering audio channels and tactics in your campaigns to reach consumers at more touch points along the path to purchase. And when you combine the intimate connections that podcasts and SiriusXM provide with the impressive, efficient reach of streaming audio, your direct-to-consumer campaigns go farther and work harder.

Add Streaming Audio to DTC Campaigns

The heartbeat of digital audio’s popularity (76% of American’s 12+) is music, which accounts for 74% of listening. Music is a unifier, crossing every demographic and geographic. And streaming audio makes it more enjoyable and more accessible than ever, for fans and brands. With both curated and on-demand access, streaming audio delivers personal listening experiences that improve moods (78%), relax audiences (75%), and make them happy (73%)—and advertisers can plug into these moments and emotions.

The SiriusXM Streaming Network combines high-engagement, go-to platforms (i.e., Pandora and SoundCloud) with exclusive partnerships (e.g., Spanish Broadcast System and Audiomack) for extended reach into key audiences. Our streaming network offers DTC brands access to more addressable, engaged listeners than any other audio partner.

With us, you can do just about anything when it comes to audio advertising: streaming audio, podcast, and SiriusXM campaigns; audio, display, and video ad formats; scaled and targeted campaigns, custom content activations and IRL events… the list goes on. And when you combine our streaming network, podcast network, and SiriusXM radio, you can reach 50% of US adults.

Streaming Audio FAQs for DTC Brands

To dig further into the streaming audio opportunity for direct-to-consumer campaigns, we approached Brandy Wellman, Director of DTC Sales to answer some FAQs. Brandy walks us through sound strategy and maximizing incremental reach in audio campaigns.

Streaming Audio Extends DTC Campaigns

Question: How does streaming supplement a DTC campaign?

Answer: Streaming gives clients an opportunity to have a multichannel approach under the SiriusXM Media umbrella that helps provide extended reach. With our efficient pricing structure, clients see a boost in overall performance. For clients that have never explored this channel, it's an effective way to reach listeners that may not be a P1 pod or streaming listener.

More Audio Means More Incremental Reach

Question: Have any studies been conducted to validate adding streaming to a client’s marketing mix for the purpose of incremental reach?

Answer: Yes. A custom study was conducted for SiriusXM Media by Edison Research that included 3,500 online interviews. Data was weighted to match age, sex, and ethnicity of the US population. One of the data points the study found, is that by bundling all SiriusXM media properties, (streaming, satellite, and podcasting), a client can reach 50% of US adults. There are multiple insights that can be shared for a client-specific demo and channel mix.

Ready to leverage streaming audio in your media mix? Still have questions? Either way, let’s talk.

Learn More About Audio for DTC Campaigns