Audio ads are getting more interactive, asking listeners not only to pay attention during ad breaks from their music or podcasts, but also to engage with ads by clicking their screens—or even talking back.

The developments aren’t exactly new, but they’re picking up steam.

• Pandora, for instance, tested interactive audio ads for brands such as Doritos and Wendy’s in 2019. The next year, Pandora expanded the format into wider public testing after internal data showed almost three-quarters of about 500 listeners reported that “voice ads were easy to engage with.” These ads are currently in open beta, the company told Marketing Brew.
• This month, Spotify announced an interactive audio ad format as well: call-to-action cards that appear on the app when a podcast ad starts playing and reoccur while the user has the app open, prompting listeners to click through to the website of the brand they’re hearing about (as opposed to having to remember a promo code or vanity URL).

Zoom out: As advertisers funnel more dollars into podcasting and other audio platforms, the demand for more innovative formats has increased. Chris Record, SVP of ad product, technology, and operations at SXM Media—which includes SiriusXM, Pandora, and Stitcher—told Marketing Brew interactive audio ads drive results and engagement. “With voice, you get a real-time signal around whether the creative is resonating.”

Tell an ad you love it…or hate it

That’s part of the value proposition offered by Instreamatic, a voice-advertising company that uses AI to facilitate conversations between listeners and audio ads. The company works primarily with music streaming apps such as Pandora, to which it licensed its tech.

For example, luxury car brand Infiniti ran a campaign with Instreamatic a few years ago asking listeners if they were interested in a test drive. Those who said no heard an immediate reply, then another ad a week later, asking if they’d like to visit Infiniti’s website instead.

• According to Instreamatic, more than 5% of the group who declined the offer in the original ad changed their mind and said yes to checking out the website, Stas Tushinskiy, Instreamatic’s CEO and co-founder, pointed out to us. Once a listener expresses interest in the website, the ad is programmed to automatically open the advertiser’s site in their browser.

For those who say a more emphatic no the first time around (maybe they use profanity in their response, for instance), they won’t hear from that campaign again, reducing waste in ad spending.

Looking ahead: “You can imagine a world at some point in the future where every ad on our platform is interactive,” Record said. “You don’t always have to interact with it, but that option is always there. Much like you can always click on a display banner, why shouldn’t all audio be able to be interacted with?”

Smart speakers offer another opportunity for voice interactivity in advertising—read the full story here.—AM

Talk about meta: the “ad-supported internet” is getting its very own marketing push.

Huh? Yesterday, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), a trade org whose members include companies like Google and TikTok, as well as brands and agencies, debuted an initiative called “Internet for Growth” in an attempt to make the case to policymakers and others that digital advertising isn’t so bad after all.

In a statement announcing the campaign, IAB CEO David Cohen said, “The ad-supported internet plays a critical role in enabling competitiveness and empowering entrepreneurialism in communities across America.”

Why now? Well, people don’t exactly love targeted ads.

• A survey of nearly 2,000 US adults that Marketing Brew conducted with Harris Poll in August found 60% of respondents didn’t think personalized advertising is ethical. And nearly three-quarters said they’ve taken steps to make it more difficult for advertisers to collect data about them.
• Some states, like California, have passed privacy-related laws in recent years to give people more control over how their data is used. And Democrats introduced a bill this week that could largely put a stop to targeted ads (barring location-based targeting in some instances).

The IAB is now pushing back with this latest undertaking, which, according to Axios, will target local lawmakers and include “250 testimonials from small businesses around the country about ways their businesses benefit from targeted ads.”

Brendan Thomas, VP of public policy communications at the IAB, told Marketing Brew over email that the initiative “seeks to preserve small businesses’ ability to conduct commerce online. Commerce is increasingly data-driven, even for the smallest storefronts.”—MS

National Hot Sauce Day is this Saturday, so consider this your free pass to eat as many hot wings as you want, guilt-free. Let’s call it a warm-up for Super Bowl Sunday.

To mark the occasion, Instacart analyzed hot-sauce purchases and worked with The Harris Poll to survey more than 2,000 US adults (1,422 of whom said they eat hot sauce) about their favorite brands in the category and more. The research comes as more and more brands, ranging from Mountain Dew to Goldfish, give their signature products a spicy twist.

We broke down some of the insights that might be most useful to marketers.

And the winner is…Huy Fong Sriracha, the top hot sauce sold through Instacart by weight. Frank’s RedHot took second place, and Cholula placed third. Tabasco clocked in at number six. These rankings will likely ruffle some feathers since a majority of the respondents (67%) who consume the stuff said they’re passionate about their favorite brand.

Room for two: That’s some pretty strong brand love, but a similar share (68%) of hot-sauce eaters surveyed said they keep two or more brands on hand, with 80% saying they change up their hot sauce preferences based on the type of food they’re eating.

What’s more, hot-sauce fans are willing to branch out from their favorites: 83% said they are very or at least somewhat open to trying hot-sauce brands new to the market, like Maya Kaimal and Truff, the fastest-growing hot-sauce brands on Instacart, according to Laurentia Romaniuk, the company’s trends expert.

Hot sauce + football: In 2021, hot-sauce purchases on Instacart peaked during—you guessed it—the Super Bowl. Sales in the category shot up by 45% on Instacart in the week leading up to the game compared to the rest of the year. Plus, consumers are buying more and more hot sauce during that week every year: Last year, sales were up 11.7% per customer on Instacart compared to 2020, and up 21.6% from 2019.—AM

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Twitter trends: A bunch of Twitter’s official partners pulled together insights for the year ahead on topics ranging from food to sports.

Insta by the numbers: 35 stats about the platform to help you plan your 2022 marketing strategy.

Why are you my clarity: A crash course in Microsoft Clarity, a user analytics tool.

Deloitte released its annual retail industry outlook, an analysis of the future of the industry based on client work, prior research, and interviews with 50 retail executives who shared their predictions for the year ahead.

The TL;DR for marketers: 70% of retail execs say they are planning for moderate-to-major investments in digital marketing this year.

• The implementation of tech among retailers also stood out as a trend: 64% of leaders said they expect that retailers will start to engage with customers through digital goods within the next five years. Yes, digital goods include those sold in the metaverse.
• Plus, 67% of respondents cited e-commerce and online shopping platforms as top investment areas. That doesn’t necessarily mean establishing an online presence, but rather making “sub-investments” that improve the online shopping experience, according to Rod Sides, global leader of insights and vice chairman, US retail and distribution at Deloitte.

“Online-first players are making dramatic investments, so the brick-and-mortar players at scale are going to have to continue to make investments to keep up” with consumer expectations, he told Marketing Brew.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• How a Brooklyn funeral home is trying to put a modern spin on death
• Mood Board: Why Dole is leaning on a classic meme to sell fruit cups
• Boring stars in Picsart’s new campaign. Literally