Audio Industry Experts Sound Off on 2024 Predictions

9 out of 10.  90%.  That’s an A minus, friends.  Not perfect, but better than good.

That’s how many predictions we got right in 2023. I know, right??? If you want a reminder on what our audio Nostradamuses said back in January of last year, check it out here.  

90%’s better than your investment advisor.  Than any sports bookie. Than your mom, who was right only about 87% of the time.

But yeah, yeah, yeah…what have we done for you lately?

Well, we’re excited to unveil the 2024 predictions for the audio industry - featuring the most confident predictions from our media, strategy, and creative experts at Oxford Road .

Let’s get into it.

First up, we have James Ingrassia with his prediction that pixel tracking is going to take a meaningful, negative hit in 2024, following the limitations that the tech giants are putting on cookie/pixel capabilities.  All eyes will be on the How Did You Hear About Us and Where Did You Hear About Us surveys, important components of Oxford Road’s attribution strategy, as our best proxies to “what’s working and what’s not” when it comes to podcast advertising.

SO WHAT?  Many brands will have to completely rethink the way they track and optimize their podcast spend.

Next, we have Daniel Granger telling us that brand safety tech solutions will become a standard offering from podcast publishers.

SO WHAT?  This is largely good news for advertisers, to an extent.  Brands will need to make sure there is a “human in the loop”, as to not reject otherwise good content based solely on keyword filters.

Spencer Semonson tells us that serious legal action will be taken against at least one brand this year because of their failure to follow the correct legal channels when it comes to “personal endorsements” from a podcast host.

SO WHAT?  Don’t let that be you!

Daniel Granger chimes in again to let us know that we shouldn’t expect radio to get better or do anything terribly unique.  Rather, he expects that new format versions will emerge from digitally native publishers.

SO WHAT?  In the face of the “melting ice cube” that many industry experts ascribe to traditional radio, new technologies should give advertisers new ways to reach audiences who are spending less time with AM/FM.

Stew Redwine jumps in with his prediction about Sonic Branding’s Second Coming.  As audio listenership continues to increase, advertisers using “sonic logos” in their ads will increase over last year - and that won’t be limited to just “radio”.  Expect to hear sonic logos in podcast ads more frequently in 2024.

SO WHAT?  The power of a sonic logo in driving brand recall can’t be denied.  Oxford Road will be pushing many of our clients in this direction in the coming years.

Who tells us that Taylor Swift will enter the only industry that she hasn’t conquered (podcasting)?  Oh, that would be James Ingrassia .  Hey, if Travis is huge in podcasting - imagine what T. Swizzle would do in listenership.

SO WHAT?  Imagine the race to sign up Swift as an endorser.  Imagine the CPMs!  Talk about your anti-hero!

What about AI?  Daniel Granger tells us that AI voices will cause a public backlash for misrepresenting perceived authenticity.  

SO WHAT?  Many publishers and advertisers are drooling at the prospect of ad customization for the specific user through AI, on any number of targeting selects (geography, language, devices, preferences, etc).  Stew Redwine wonders at what point will it all become absurd, and people start tuning out.

James Ingrassia drops another one:  Apple will make a major acquisition in the audio space.

SO WHAT?  TBD!  But we’re wary of monopolistic tendencies when one player owns a huge chunk of content options.

In terms of trends, Daniel Granger tells us that dynamic audio (such as music and spoken word from Alexa), will outpace the overall audio market in year-over-year growth. 

SO WHAT?  Advertisers, don’t forget about the “new home radio” when looking at your test budgets.

And finally - for any of you who have heard our opening music to the Media Roundtable and have either cringed or fast-forwarded past it, you’ll be happy to know that Daniel Granger ’s final prediction for the year is that we’re going to change that intro music…imminently!  You’re welcome.

SO WHAT?  What do you mean “so what?”  This is EVERYTHING.

Hey everybody - Happy New Year.  Let us know if you disagree with any of the above, and we’ll make sure to grade ourselves when next year rolls around.

Could we beat 90% again?  What do you predict?