To attract listeners to a podcast for music fans, Audible leveraged experiential marketing, Twitch, influencers, and a partnership with Rolling Stone.
Objective
To capture fan and creator attention, Audible's campaign couldn't just talk about the cultural relevance of its Words + Music series — it needed to contribute to music culture in the same way the series did. To ensure Audible succeeded in making Words + Music a destination for music fans, the marketing strategy needed to stealthily insinuate itself among existing cultural connoisseurs.
Context
Words + Music was a series that chronicled the creative processes, passions, and careers of musicians in their own words.
Target Audience
To increase market segment share, Audible had to reach and engage with music fans at scale to promote Words + Music. With music fans being 37 percent more likely to listen to other audio content like Audible, tapping into this audience would allow for maximum impact. Audible infiltrated the lives of music fans, piquing interest, underscoring the unique intimacy the series allowed for as well as the impressive range of artists involved.
Creative and Media Strategy
Using moments from Words + Music as a springboard for discussion, musicians were tasked with discussing their own artistry and how the series helped them learn something new about their heroes. This strategy allowed Audible to connect with music fans by featuring their favorite artists talking about some of the biggest names in music, pulling back the curtain to give insider access to how music culture builds upon itself across generations. Led by media, Audible's creative strategy placed Words + Music in spaces where music fans already were and allowed them to feel like they were discovering the series organically.
Throughout Q4 of 2022, brand and influencer collaborations built a significant appetite for the Words + Music series while social media, display, and audio advertising sustained support across the holistic music landscape. Audible aligned with Rolling Stone as the presenting sponsor of their annual "Musicians on Musicians" issue, dedicated to musicians connecting with each other.
The natural alignment in storytelling between Words + Music and the issue allowed Audible to create a print, digital, and podcast feature with Words + Music artists John Legend and Common, alongside sponsorship of the full issue and Legend's title premiere on Audible.
Audible also created branded videos with Suki Waterhouse and Finneas who spoke about their own Words + Music inspirations.
A trio of Twitch live streams on Rolling Stone's channel built deeper fandom.
Bringing Words + Music into the real world, Audible created a Surf Shack experience at the Sea.Hear.Now music festival and celebrated the release of John Legends' installment of Words + Music with a launch party hosted at Lincoln Center. Scaling their impact, on-the ground influencers also created digital content.
Audible reached 245 million music enthusiasts and experienced a 12 percent increase in brand familiarity, a 13 percent increase in affinity, and 10 percent increases in both recommendation and purchase intent, illustrated through a brand-lift study with Nielsen.
Rolling Stone saw impressive editorial scale, with over 8.1 million print issues circulated, and collaboration efforts with Audible helped Rolling Stone's Twitch channel see its strongest viewership numbers, amounting to 675,000 live viewers.
While awareness and consideration were a primary goal, engagement drove significant visitation to the Words + Music hub on Audible, attracting over 667,000 incremental visits during the campaign flight.
Influencer efforts drove an 84 percent lift in positive sentiment for Audible's Words + Music, and engagement, shares, and comments led to $5.4 million in earned media value for the campaign.
