“The ad industry has long been obsessed with consumers’ eyes, with discourse around eye-catching work pretty much standard. But thanks to the explosion of audio streaming, digital radio and podcasts, the ears are making a comeback. Sit up and listen.” – said Charles Vallance, chairman and founding partner of VCCP and the author of the article in Campaign.
Charles Vallance added:
“Despite the many constraints of lockdowns and pandemic living, there are two parts of us that have never had it so good. I refer, of course, to our ears.”
“Technology, as ever, has been one of the main accelerants. Mass adoption of the smartphone, combined with the digitisation of radio and prevalence of streamed music services means that, where once our ears were idle, they are now occupied. Indeed, unless engaged actively in conversation, there is virtually no waking moment that isn’t now an OTL (opportunity to listen) to some form or other of third-party content.”
“Perhaps the biggest factor driving the Era of the Ear is techno-social. We are now simply more open to voice and auditory protocols. I still struggle to ask Google to play the radio, but no-one else seems to. Alexa gets bossed around right left and centre (“please” should become a mandatory part of the UX).”
We agree with the point of view, now the era of the ears and we recommend an article in Campaign.
