From Metro announcements to jingles: How audio ads are sneaking into our daily lives

New Delhi: A recent experience for Delhi Metro travellers turned into a fun tale when Jeevansathi’s latest announcement playfully poked fun at singles. 

Zomato pulled off a similar stunt back in January, catching listeners off-guard in the Mumbai Metro. 

And that’s not all—try adding a Britannia product to your Zepto cart, and you’ll be greeted with their catchy ‘ting-ting-ti-ding’. These instances of audio advertising are just the tip of the iceberg.

Audio advertisements are quickly filling the gaps that video ads haven’t managed to reach—literally turning ‘pervasive’. While Spotify’s push for premium users might be annoying, it’s undeniably a lucrative space that brands can't ignore.

Hearing is our first sense, and music profoundly impacts our emotions, moods, and behaviours. This is where the blend of audio and advertising comes into play, evoking reactions and influencing listeners with subliminal messages. Is it really about emotionalising brands?

Audio advertising involves crafting a brand's identity through sound—an essential element of multi-sensory branding and holistic design. 

Nisha Sampath, a brand expert at Bright Angels Consulting LLP, reminds us that sonic branding isn’t new. “Martin Lindstrom has been discussing it since his book ‘Sensory Branding’ came out in 2005. Companies like Brand Musiq have created sonic logos for various brands.”

A simple ‘bong’ (Intel) or ‘ta-dum’ (Netflix); is enough to catch your attention, or it could be an entire tune like McDonald’s ‘I'm Lovin' It’ and Coca-Cola’s ‘ting ding di di ding’ (Hilltop). This is what audio advertising does—it stays with you, much after your initial point of contact with the brand.

“A major benefit of audio ads is that the recall value is higher than other ad formats—especially if they are ‘host read’. This can be leveraged heavily to drive higher engagement and recall,” said Aditya Kuber, Co-founder and CEO, Ideabrew Studio. What makes the recent trend waves intriguing in this space is “the companies trying to break through the massive clutter online,” said Sampath. 

This also indicates that India is already beyond its nascent stage in terms of picking up on audio advertising.

Reflecting on the same thought, Vineet Kanabar, Vice-President (Marketing) at Z47, said that it is fast-growing. “India’s love for music and regional content is pushing audio into the spotlight. Platforms like Spotify are driving more localised, personalised ads. While it’s not on video’s level yet, audio’s evolving quickly. Brands are realising its potential, especially with the rise of podcasts.”

An audio identity mirrors a visual identity, encompassing all sounds associated with a brand. Historically, brands have prioritised visual branding, often neglecting sound as a critical brand element. However, the rise of new media — like podcasts and streaming services — presents both opportunities and challenges for audio branding. 

Singh believes, “Audio advertising was never nascent. Radio has made the practice of audio advertising 'very seasoned & salient' for decades. In fact, traditional audio advertising bakes within itself the principles of brand growth very robustly—maintaining brand consistency, using budget upweights on key assets and constantly reinventing a brand's audio hooks in newer ways’.

Given that many decisions are made unconsciously, audio branding plays a crucial role in effective brand communication. Research by professors Dr Adrian North and Dr David Hargreaves found that brands whose music aligns with their identity are 96% more likely to be recalled than those that do not.

“As opposed to a few years ago—when brands associated audio advertising with audio platforms—today, brands are welcoming audio-first moments. This means the chances of making a brand come alive audio-only increase many times. This also gives rise to the possibility of brands connecting in newer environments that could be native and contextually more relevant,” said Gursimran Singh, former head of brand strategy at JioSaavn. 

Three key trends that are likely to mark its presence in the coming year:

• User experience sounds: Auditory signals, like notification sounds, are becoming essential brand elements, evolving into a new type of audio logo that encapsulates brand identity.

• Revival of sung advertisements: Jingles are making a comeback as brands recognise the emotional connection and memorability that vocal elements provide.

• Holistic audio branding: A focus on comprehensive auditory experiences across all touchpoints will strengthen brand loyalty and create immersive customer experiences, moving beyond just a single audio logo. 

“For me personally, Cadbury’s Secret Playlist campaign was a standout,” said Kanabar. “They hid love notes in Spotify playlists that only certain users could find, making the whole experience feel like a treasure hunt for Valentine’s Day. Another hit was Swiggy’s ‘Voice of Hunger’ campaign, which used people’s voice notes to engage them in a fun, interactive way, with free food as the prize. The payment-completed speakers that you find at shops are a non-intrusive audio way to solve for notifying both customers and shopkeepers. And of course, interactive voice ads are adding a new layer to engagement, where you can say ‘Play Now’ and instantly act on the ad,” Kanabar highlighted.

But our experts had more to say when asked about a quick tip for brands to better capitalise on audio advertising. As per Kanabar, “Fit the flow, don’t disrupt.” He believes “audio is personal, so brands need to feel like a natural part of the listener’s experience. Keep it short and memorable, with storytelling or a strong emotional hook.”

“Today, with the fragmentation of disciplines, tunes and lyrics are created by someone else, copy by someone else,” said Sampath on a seemingly critical note. “Creative people who are multi-sensory will have a huge edge in the times to come. Therefore, one of the big needs for audio advertising is to surmount challenges of literacy and make brand messaging more accessible to everyone,” she added.

Kuber explained that for him, “one of the key aspects of audio is that it is created for an audience of one. “Unlike a lot of advertising in other mediums, creating ads that seem more personal can work wonders in audio. Making the ads more localised and using audio innovation like Binaural audio and so on can help,” he added.

In Singh’s view, below are some crucial aspects to consider in the process of audio advertising:

• Understanding the strength of the channel—whether it is radio, streaming platforms or audio-enabled experiences—every channel has its own way of interacting with the user, and brands need to understand their user journey in that environment.

• Design exclusively for what is possible and not what you fancy it to become—that's the only way to achieve established & optimal performance (proven by benchmarks).

• While innovating for audio, test and learn as much as possible to assure success. Once built and executed, do not discard easily, as audio assets tend to run for longer and do not face fatigue so easily. Audio assets also have higher attention levels built into them.

However, there are also challenges that persist and are yet to be fully resolved. To start with, Kuber points out that “there is no clear way to ‘close the loop’ using a call-to-action like other digital ad formats allow. With voice-activated technology, this can be resolved.

In fact, what serves as a selling point for audio recall is also something that might become a task to overcome. “Without visuals, everything rides on sound. The message needs to be crystal clear and compelling,” said Kanabar. “Measurement is another hurdle. Unlike clicks, it’s harder to track audio engagement, but audio’s impact often lingers longer,” he added.

For Singh, the challenge would be to stick to what audio advertising is best suited for—delivering on top-of-funnel KPIs. “It may be ambitious to utilise it for pure performance play but best suited to work in conjunction with other full-funnel campaigns,” he said. “As with many other mediums that pose ambiguity in measuring mid-funnel measurement, even audio is yet to deliver a solution. Currently, metrics like LTA and completion rates are the only and closest metrics that have varied views and POVs when it comes to accepting them,” he added.

“Video consumption of audio streaming platforms, namely ‘Vodcasts’ and then, of course, podcasts, are currently experimenting with these metrics and are attracting brands' appetite and share of budget towards video ads. It is worth waiting and watching who wins this race—audio streaming platforms or video first channels like Youtube,” Singh opined.

With regard to contextual cohorts, Singh believes “Audio consumption is getting deeper and more complex with users streaming newer and varied types of content. This gives brands the opportunity to tap into sub-cultures and communities (on one end) and contextual targeting for mass brands (on the other).”

Similarly, Kanabar said on an optimistic note, “Audio’s real-time engagement potential is huge. Ads can now drive actions—like ordering food or signing up—while listeners are still in the app.” There’s also a huge potential in regional language content in India—"It's an untapped market waiting for brands to connect authentically.

Sampath also iterated about the “new-age digital brand experiences presenting a big opportunity for brands to integrate audio at key touch points where the user actually looks forward to them.

For example, GPay and PayTM use signature audio tracks for successful payments made. Over time, users begin to associate these with reassurance from the brand. Here, audio helps build trust and emotional connect.”

“Audio ads across mediums will continue to evolve and present interesting opportunities. Like the use of ASMR to create a world for audiences consuming music or podcasts. These are creative, high-recall and retention methods that are yet to be fully explored,” said Kuber.

As Kanabar puts it, “Audio is always on, blending into daily routines — whether people are driving, working out, or unwinding. With podcasts, streaming, and voice assistants, it’s about creating a presence that sticks without being pushy.” 

Therefore, “developing audio-first content is proving highly beneficial for brands globally and requires a specific mindset that explores user behaviour on audio platforms — this could potentially provide brands a distinct breakthrough and avoid the clutter on social, video and display,” highlighted Singh while speaking on the way ahead.