The Media Club · 2 March 2023 · 43 min

The Future Of Audio

With Omar Oakes, Sam Austin, George Butler, Demi Abiola, Jason Brownlee, Matt Payton

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In this episode of The Media Club, host Matt Deegan is on location at The Future Of Audio Europe conference in London, joined by Omar Oakes (editor of The Media Leader), Sam Austin (head of audio at Goodstuff Communications), and George Butler (head of commercial marketing at Bauer). The conversation focuses on the state of the UK audio industry, particularly the need for better measurement across digital audio and podcasts to attract more advertising spend. They discuss the challenges of measuring audio's effectiveness compared to TV, the importance of creative quality in audio ads, and the evolving role of talent in radio, including the recent moves of Ken Bruce to Greatest Hits Radio and the handling of long-standing presenters at Radio 2 and LBC. The episode also features interviews with Demi Abiola (mSix&Partners), Jason Brownlee (Colourtext), and Matt Payton (CEO of Radio Centre), covering topics such as brand safety, data-driven insights into ad creative, and the future of radio distribution in a tech-dominated landscape. The show concludes with a media quiz segment.

Key takeaways

The Future of Audio Europe conference highlighted the need for better measurement across audio to attract more ad spend.
Ken Bruce is moving to Greatest Hits Radio in April, with Radio 2 shortening his notice period.
Steve Allen left LBC after 44 years, with his departure announced after his final show.
Jason Brownlee's data analysis found that too many words in audio ads can reduce effectiveness by up to 27%.
Radio Centre CEO Matt Payton discussed the importance of securing radio's place in connected cars and smart speakers.

In this episode

Intro and News Round-up0:00 · Matt Deegan introduces the episode and covers the week's media news.
Main Discussion on Audio Industry5:00 · Discussion with Omar Oakes, Sam Austin, and George Butler on audio measurement, talent, and the future of audio.
Interviews with Delegates20:00 · Matt interviews Demi Abiola, Jason Brownlee, and Matt Payton.
Media Quiz35:00 · Name That Headline quiz with the guests.
Outro45:00 · Wrap-up and Patreon plug.