B2B and Spoken Word Media - The Special Relationship

The Media Roundtable is back, and we’re tackling one of the thorniest, most misunderstood, yet most rewarding aspects of audio advertising: B2B.

Our deep dive was inspired by this excellent recent report from Pierre Bouvard (Chief Insights Officer, Cumulus Media | Westwood One) on reaching B2B decision makers through the magic of audio.

“You can't just say, ‘hey, let's give audio a shot–we're just going to throw a bunch of money at it and see what happens.’ You really need to hone in on what you expect will happen and what your benchmarks for success are going to be.”

Hosting again is Oxford Road Founder and CEO Dan Granger, along with Pierre Bouvard and an all-star crew of deep thinkers with extensive B2B chops.

⭐️ James Ingrassia (EVP, Client Service, Oxford Road)

⭐️ Neal Lucey (EVP, Strategy & Product, Oxford Road),

⭐️ Rion Swartz (VP, Brand Marketing, Constant Contact)

Together, they’re talking all things B2B audio including; balancing long-term and short-term plans, why everyone should look beyond business, why good things take time, and a whole lot more. Let’s dive in.

Hands in the Air 🙌 - For B2B, you need to incentivize your hand raises. It’s not enough to say “Call NOW for a free consultation.” What’s truly the highest item of perceived value you can offer your customers? You don’t need to close the deal in one ad, just start the conversation. Especially for bigger ticket items, take the time to develop trust through personal endorsements and relationship-building. Flexibility in audio works wonders.

The New Channel Problem 🧐- Scaling channels means proving ROI to stakeholders. Rion was fortunate at LegalZoom, because they tested audio successfully before channels multiplied and spending ramped. So what’s a CAO to do? If you’re not in a mature marketing environment, test audio NOW for a cleaner read. Otherwise, Rion recommends media mix modeling, and of course, we’re big believers of our two-tiered survey that has worked wonders for Bambee, a true B2B audio success story.

The 18-24-58 Rule 🤓- Starting a new campaign but not sure when you’re going to see its impact? Use the rule of thumb Pierre recommends from Gain Theory: 18% the first month. 24% in 2-5 months. 58% in 6 months and beyond. TL;DR, let your audio cook. 🧑‍🍳

After hearing this you’ll not only become a B2B Audio Evangelist, you’ll also know how to make sure ALL of your B2B audio campaigns live up to their potential. Tune into the full episode by engaging the link below.

Bianca Gorodinsky