WWO Audio Active Group: Less Is More
This week’s Westwood One Audio Active Group blog shares information about the effectiveness of audio ads from a collaborative UK study by audio distribution service Audiotrack and analytics firm Colourtext that compared ad effectiveness with word density in audio ads. Some of the takeaways from this study lend credence to the notion that when it comes to ad copy, less is indeed more. For example,
the study found that eliminating 10 words of audio copy increases the Creative Standout score by 1%. Creative Standout is achieved when consumers say, “this ad stands out” and rate an ad with an 8, 9, or 10 on a one-to-ten-standout scale. Further it found that eliminating 10 words of audio copy increases web traffic by 0.25%. Creative Standout in audio advertising is strongly linked to ad response via website visits. For each 1% rise in Creative Standout achieved by an audio ad, website response rate increases by 0.25%. Also, the more messages that are included in the ad, the poorer the recall. An ad with four messages will have message recall of only 24%, compared to 43% for ads with just one message. The more messages an ad attempts to communicate, the lower the likelihood of a single message being communicated. See the blog post here.
Here’s actual news copy, from Joe Connolly’s business report one morning on WCBS, NY: “One third of all domestic flights are now late, by an average of one hour.”
word, which is a 55% increase over nine years ago (20%); 2) Spoken word listening at home has grown dramatically: 60% of the total daily audio time spent with spoken word audio is at home, 24% in the car, 13% at work, and 3% at some other location. The time spent listening to spoken word audio at home has grown to 41 daily minutes in 2023 from 27 daily minutes in 2014. Increases in at-home spoken word audio listening are seen across every hour in the listening day; 3) Spoken word listening in-car has shifted post-pandemic, but AM/FM radio remains on top: Of all the daily time spent listening to spoken word audio, time spent listening in the car has declined from 36% in 2014 to 24% in 2023. In the car, 62% of spoken word audio consumed by those in the U.S. age 13+ is to AM/FM radio content, including over the air and streams; 4) For the first time ever, the mobile device is the primary way people listen to spoken word: 39% of spoken word audio consumed daily by those age 13+ in the U.S. is on a mobile device, followed by 35% on an AM/FM radio receiver. At home, 41% of spoken word audio is consumed on a mobile device, and at work, 47% of spoken word is consumed on a mobile device. AM/FM radio receivers still dominate in-car, garnering 60% of the spoken word audio listening there; and 5) Podcasts represent a large and growing share of spoken word listening: Podcasts now represent over one-third (36%) of time spent with spoken word audio. Twenty-eight percent of time spent listening to podcasts goes to NPR/public radio. At home, 40% of spoken-word audio listening goes to podcasts. 
We have a saying around “The Mark Kaye Show” studio:
on Gospel WPZZ-FM, Richmond to discuss the project and the referendum and lamented the amount of money they’d spent on the process, saying, “God has blessed me with enough to build the Richmond Grand. But $10 million is what the final [campaign] bill looks like. Such a waste. I am so mad at this opposition. Do you know how much good I could have done with $10 million? I had to pay the lawyers, the accountants, and the lobbyists… just to get the opportunity for you all to vote.” Casinos have already been approved in four Virginia cities, but the project was extremely controversial in Richmond.
video saying it violates its community guidelines that “prohibit linking to content containing manifestos from individuals who have committed violent attacks.” Crowder issued a notice on X regarding the removal of the content, saying, “YOU determine what matters. YOU determine the content. Not YouTube, not the rest of BigTech, not their lackies, and not a gaggle of sponsors who don’t have the b***s to stand behind the kind of content you actually want to see.” According to a report by Newsweek, “The Metro Nashville Police Department has not confirmed that the screenshots shared by Crowder are Hale’s manifesto. A department spokesperson told Newsweek Monday that police were ‘unable to confirm the authenticity of what has been released, although we are looking into that at this very moment.’” 
Folks in the Gen Z and millennial demographics are heavily 
company says, “The numbers don’t lie. America’s military heroes are struggling with money. A recent survey conducted by Wounded Warrior Project finds six in 10 veterans did not have enough money to make ends meet at some point in the past year. The survey also finds the rising cost of goods is the top-rated source of financial strain.” Dave Ramsey comments, “Veterans who’ve selflessly served to protect our freedom deserve to feel freedom for themselves and their families. It’s not just about financial education; it’s about transformation. Winning with money takes sacrifice, perseverance and determination — qualities veterans know all about. We’ll give them the tools, and they’ll get it done.” 
We all need to learn how to fall back. This is not about daylight saving, retreating, or backpedaling. This is about learning from the most valuable brand in tech, the oracle, and the best practices all of us in sales and management must learn to apply.
I am always impressed when I see-and-hear radio and TV stations swapping product.
award-winning and barrier-breaking broadcast professional who has built her brand and ‘America Tonight’ show to be trusted and respected. Kate’s been a dependable weeknight talk host for 15 years. Her affiliates know her as a super-serving talent who goes the extra mile for them. Listeners know ‘America Tonight with Kate Delaney’ as an entertaining show to stay ‘in the know.’” Delaney adds, “I look forward to expanding and growing the show with the talented professionals at TMN. I’m passionate about talk radio and its ability to bring people together to inform, entertain and surprise listeners.” Stations interested in the program can reach out to 
deductible donations to the Guardian Fund. Corporate donations can be given to the Angel Initiative, which is also tax deductible. BFoA chairman Scott Herman states, “Life can change in a heartbeat, and exorbitant medical bills can leave one of our colleagues in broadcasting in desperate need of assistance. I’m asking everyone in radio and television to consider a donation, in any amount, so that we can continue to provide assistance to those in our industry who need it most.” 
ECHO box technology. He says, “GCN’s Adam Miller explains that their ECHO Files can easily be synced with most radio automation systems for easy delay broadcast with no new hardware needed and about fifteen minutes setup time! There is no need to have staff do daily chores like pulling files manually from an FTP or website. Those days are done! For live affiliates GCN has their ECHO Box that comes pre-programmed for the shows the affiliate carries. The ECHO Box can also do delay broadcast. They are sending these out with priority to stations that take the largest number of live hours, but eventually all live affiliates will receive them as dozens more of the very small ECHO Boxes will be coming in early November.” Affiliates with questions can call Adam Miller at 612-695-5982. 
noted that it lost about 96,000 self-pay subscribers during the quarter and states that its current total subscribers stands at 34 million. SiriusXM CEO Jennifer Witz says, “We are very excited to unveil SiriusXM’s next-generation platform on November 8th, a key component of our long-term vision for the company’s consumer offerings. Our content portfolio continues to differentiate us in the audio marketplace with exclusive access to live sports, talk, music and one-of-a-kind content.”