Blog>YouTube launches Audio ads to try and compete with Spotify

YouTube launches Audio ads to try and compete with Spotify

The world of paid advertising has seen a lot of change and development over the previous year; the pandemic has moved a lot of business activity online with digital advertising spend now rising rapidly across the board.  Google has somewhat of a stranglehold on the paid search industry, with Google and YouTube Ads making up a large section of the market. Whilst they are the biggest hitter in the market, there are areas (such as audio) where the giant has been unable to gain a reliable market share. This could be about to change as Google launches audio ads as a direct competitor to the Spotify ads market.   

YouTube Audio Ads will make up a part of the new music platform

The new YouTube platform aims to bring over 70 million official tracks in addition to remixes, liver performances, and other musical content. YouTube hopes that the new platform will increase ad revenue for the platform. The market has typically been dominated by Spotify which holds the major share of digital audio streaming markets. 

What will the new audio ads look like? 

The move by YouTube is certainly an interesting one and according to Variety, the ads are likely to be around 15-seconds long; half the time of the standard Spotify ads. According to YouTube the new audio first advertisement method had led to 75% of campaigns developing a significant lift in brand awareness for their businesses.  The new audio ads are set to be featured along with the new audio features on YouTube, including dynamic music lineups and dedicated genres based on the user’s behaviours and what they are most likely to listen to. This audience tailoring will give YouTube advertisers the similar control they have come to expect from Spotify campaigns. 

Should I look at the new audio ads for my business? 

The world of programmatic and paid digital advertising is constantly evolving with new offerings put forward by the main content platforms across the web. The increased diversity of ads available also comes with an increased level of complexity. This complexity requires management, which is why we recommend getting expert advice before launching any news campaigns on different platforms.  Look at your business model, what are you offering as a product to customers? This will have a big impact on determining the relevance of audio ads to your customer base.