Streaming radio has a strong listener base that is continually growing, offering significant benefits and features for advertising. These benefits include access to local, regional, and/or national audiences, targeted ads, and more.
There are several streaming radio services to choose from when creating your advertising campaign. Though each with its benefits and features, Media Venue has highlighted 3 of the top platforms below. We are happy to help you make the most of your radio budget, no matter which streaming platform you decide to advertise on!
Spotify
Spotify offers both an ad-supported and a subscription-based ad-free version, reaching almost 433 million active users worldwide each month up to Q2 of 2022. Of the active users, more than half (245 million) of 2022 (up to Q2) listeners used the ad-supported version.
What makes Spotify great for brands? The first is the demographic and interest-based audiences Spotify offers. For example, Spotify reaches a younger demographic; 26% are under 24 years of age. In 2020, Spotify was the most popular music streaming service for those between the ages of 12 to 34. This is ideal for brands looking to reach this audience. In addition, Spotify offers interest-based audiences, including fitness enthusiasts, new parents, and commuters, allowing brands to reach a specific audience easily.
Spotify’s ads offer a variety of options for advertisers. In addition, Spotify reaches 183 markets and offers over 50 million songs and 4 million podcasts to listeners, with advertisement possibilities including audio, video, podcasts, and display. Brands can sponsor sessions and playlists, do homepage takeovers, and more. Spotify ads also offer playlists, genres, and location targeting capabilities. In fact, their location targeting the United States can go as small as a specific zip code!
Pandora
Pandora, with more than 115 million unique listeners each month, #1 ranking in 87 US markets, incorporation into 200+ car models, and more than 2,000 connected home devices, also offers many features and advertising options for businesses.
Pandora offers audio ads that come with a companion tile or banner. Pandora’s dynamic ads can be personalized based on the genre of music, weather, or location. Pandora also offers sequential ads that start by building awareness and lead up to driving action. In addition, it offers video and display ads.
In addition to the variety of ad options available, Pandora offers advertisers over 2,000 audience segments, such as genre, ethnicity, HHI, education level, marital/parental status, lifestyle, and shopping habits.
Over 90% of our listeners stream on mobile, and over 10% stream via connected home devices, though that percentage is fluctuating due to the current pandemic. Pandora listeners tune in to the platform for about 1.25 hours daily, and 90% listen to the free, ad-supported version.
iHeartRadio
iHeartRadio is another powerful streaming radio service. With advertising opportunities ranging from as small as the local level to as large as the national level, businesses are sure to find their desired audience among the many geographic locations and advertising opportunities available. iHeartRadio can target ads by demographic, music interest, or engagement. Since iHeartRadio has 160 million registered users (with significant year-over-year growth) and over 860 radio stations.
The iHeartRadio audience listens approximately 2.5 hours daily, primarily on mobile devices. The audience’s age demographics are also distributed evenly. The smallest demographics are those between ages 13 and 24 and those 65+ (both comprise 10% of the audience each). The largest demographic is ages 55-64, 23% of listeners.
What makes iHeartRadio unique from an advertising perspective? They have a large reach and great demographic targeting options, but they also reach more of the US population than Pandora and Spotify. In fact, unlike Pandora and Spotify, iHeartRadio does not offer an ad-free subscription. This means you don’t have to worry about missing your target audience due to paid subscription!
Get Started with Streaming Radio with Media Venue
Spotify, Pandora, and iHeartRadio each have great features and options available to help businesses reach their target audience and achieve business goals. However, these three platforms are just a few of the many streaming radio platforms available. Whether you choose to advertise on one (or more!) streaming platforms, Media Venue can help. Our traditional marketing team is well-versed in radio capabilities and can work with you to create a great streaming radio campaign.
Ready to learn more? Visit the Media Venue website or email Cassie at Cassie@mediavenue.com to learn more about Media Venue’s radio marketing capabilities.
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About Our Blogger
Charlotte Mason has more than 3 years of experience in the digital media industry. She is primarily focused on writing, social media management, and email marketing. Her enthusiasm for the creative aspects of marketing keeps her regularly seeking innovative advertising solutions for her clients.
