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Humans Matter
In the age of AI, audio's ability to forge deeply personal and trusted relationships with listeners is an opportunity for brands
The possibilities that technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) bring to streamlining processes, making smarter decisions, reducing costs, creating content, targeting consumers, and improving efficiency are transformational, exciting, and overwhelming all at the same time. It's easy to get swallowed up in AI's potential, even easier to lose focus on humanity along the way. With 44 percent of American consumers feeling ignored by brands despite increased targeting and personalization across more platforms, per a new study from iHeartMedia and Pushkin Industries, it has perhaps never been more important to bring the human connection between brand and consumers to the forefront.
Human connection is the bond that forms when people feel seen, valued, and understood. Connections lead to trusted relationships, and trust drives loyalty. Striving to create long-lasting relationships among target consumers is not a new marketing strategy. In fact, arguably, relationship-building has been part of every plan since the beginning of time. However, the industry's reliance now on targeting, data, and AI is proving to be detrimental to building connections, and that risks an erosion in brand trust.
Trust Matters
According to the iHeartMedia/Pushkin Industries study, 67 percent of consumers hate being trailed by targeted ads and 70 percent of that group say that digital ads are irrelevant to them, despite marketers' targeting efforts. On the flip side, 82 percent of consumers say they are influenced by their communities, friends, family, and religious leaders (i.e., those closest to them, whom they trust implicitly, and who help them most throughout their daily journeys).
Radio, the audio industry leader, is the medium that extends farthest into a listener's inner circle of trust. Radio's on-air personalities, podcast hosts, and influence within the communities it serves are human-to-human connective tissue. According to a new Katz Radio Group study, which surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults, radio's emotional resonance is the reason that listeners' trust in audio continues to grow while other media may decline. This fact was in high relief in the aftermath of the devastating flooding that struck North Carolina caused by Hurricane Helene in September.
Local radio journalists worked overtime in the region to correct misinformation and relay updates and information from local and federal officials to the entire community.
"It's been a godsend for so many people across Western North Carolina to hear their voices," Denise Potter, a resident of Hendersonville, N.C., tells Radio Ink, referring to local radio. "To hear the press conferences from Governor Cooper and hearing where there's help and hearing that help is coming from FEMA or where churches are setting up where people can go get food or take a shower or anything.
"People would never know this. They would never know this information if it wasn't for these guys and gals on the radio."
Authenticity Matters
Radio is a lifeline to many in times of need. It is also a respite and a source of information and entertainment. The medium, across all its forms, is deeply engrained in the daily lives and routines of its listeners.
According to a recent nuVoodoo study cited by Radio Ink, radio listeners — like their favorite stations — are characterized by their active involvement in community and personal activities and are more likely to use advertising to discover new products. Unlike their non-listening counterparts, radio listeners are less likely to be introverted, participating in social and public events. The study underscores the importance of radio as a medium for reaching an engaged, economically stable, and community-oriented audience. Advertisers can leverage this medium to effectively target consumers who are key decision-makers and responsive to advertising.
Savvy marketers are taking note. They are turning from performance-based messaging toward "right brain" approaches that are based on empathy. Audacy's 2024 "State of Audio" trends report cites a study pioneered by System1 that defines left- and right-brain creative features for radio advertising. System1's findings show that ads that depict positive emotions can deliver long-lasting brand effects, such as brand purchase and use, and an 8.2 percent lift in consumer action.
The Audacy report identifies creator partnerships as a trend that has become a "must-have" in media plans and will continue to rise in importance in the audio space due to the authentic engagement for brands that the media drives among listeners. That's no surprise, given eight out of 10 people feel that radio aligns with their core values, a stat that outperforms all media, according to a 2019 iHeartMedia release that remains relevant today. When consumers tune-in, they aren't just consuming content — they are connecting deeply with personalities and hosts who become a part of their lives. It's a bond built over time and grounded in trust, familiarity, and shared values.
Connection Matters
According to on-air hosts, the secret sauce in creating engagement for brands is in sync with what research has confirmed: authenticity, trust, and passion. "It's all about the trust … People can have millions of followers, but if they don't really know you, or really relate to you, then I don't think it's going to do well with a brand or a partnership," Bru, a multiplatform influencer and host of Audacy's The Bru Show, is quoted as saying in Audacy's report. "Radio is such an intimate place. We're talking about our lives and our experiences, and at the end of the day developing a real relationship with [listeners] — and that goes a long way when it comes to endorsing a product."
At the 2024 ANA Masters of Marketing conference in October, Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer at the Procter & Gamble Co., inspired attendees with a similar message about the necessity to never lose sight of the importance of humanity in marketing. He said that, for P&G brands, creating for the moments that matter to consumers is key to building relationships and long-term growth.
"AI doesn't get the spine tingles," Pritchard told the audience. "Humanity matters."
The RAB is a partner in the ANA Thought Leadership Program.
