Australian Radio Network (ARN) has announced the launch of AdsWizz technology across its digital music, live radio streaming and entertainment platform, iHeartRadio, making it the first Aussie radio broadcaster to offer personalised audio advertising.
The addition of the new technology means ARN will be able to tailor audio advertising on iHeartRadio to reach audiences with more personalised and relevant advertising messages, improving the overall engagement and entertainment experience, while offering clients more tailored campaigns than ever before.
The launch phase of AdsWizz will draw on iHeartRadio’s listening hours to customised radio, with advertising across iHeartRadio’s live radio to begin from the end of September.
Advertisers can access audio streams, pre-roll video, companion banners and podcasts from next week, and to facilitate buy-side access, the AdsWizz platform will be programmatic from launch.
AdsWizz will work alongside complementary advertising and data support technology already in place across ARN brands, including data management platform LOTAME, to further strengthen its offering to market.
LOTAME has been integrated in the iHeartRadio platform, across ARN’s national KIIS, Pure Gold and The Edge network online sites, and Conversant Media’s Lost At E Minor, Techly and The Roar digital sites.
ARN chief executive Rob Atkinson said: “ARN, through iHeartRadio, can now offer one-to-one targeted audio advertising that can be personalised based on our listeners’ location, demographics, interests and behaviours.
“This is the first time advertisers will be able to strategically reach online listeners of our radio brands via iHeartRadio, in addition to a full content suite of podcasts, online-only radio stations and hundreds of pre-curated artist, genre and specialised stations on the iHeartRadio platform.
“Leveraging specific profile characteristics and key demographic information, AdsWizz will enable ARN to deliver a superior commercial offering for clients across the iHeartRadio platform, including real-time analytics to execute precise ad targeting across a range of platforms and devices, and is the next step in the evolution of our overall offering.”
AdsWizz CEO Alexis van de Wyer said: “We are thrilled to partner with ARN to bring the Australian audio market solutions designed to improve both the listener experience and the impact of audio advertising for the brands.
“Integrating AdsWizz’s advanced audio-centric platforms and iHeartRadio‘s unique audience reach will allow the launch of advanced advertising experiences and the personalisation of marketing messages tailored to the right audiences.
“AdsWizz programmatic solutions will also cater to the growing appetite of many agencies eager to start buying digital audio programmatically today.”
The announcement marks a signification milestone in the evolution of iHeartRadio in Australia, which now has more than 820,000 registered users, and follows the launch of its global app earlier this year.
