A Plan To Make Audio Content, And Clients, Squeal With Joy

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For more than a quarter century, a New York-based creative has been producing audio advertisements for such high-profile clients as AT&T, CBS Television, Lowe’s, and Coors Light. Now, the duo heading this ad shop are turning to sonic branding and podcast ads to help advertisers take advantage of digital advancements for audio.


Dan Price and Jim Price are the chief brains behind the playfully named Oink Ink, which maintains a presence in Los Angeles in addition to its Gotham headquarters.

At a time when some may disdain radio commercials or audio ads as being inferior to those in year’s past, Oink Ink has skillfully delivered :30s and :60s at a time when pre-roll on audio streams and ad insertion technology demands more inventory, not less.

Thanks to new technology, personalized audio ads are now a reality — and Oink Ink is in the driver’s seat.

That’s why it is incorporating more sequential, short form and Dynamic Audio for streaming.

The latter platform, Dynamic Audio, is generating much buzz because of its capabilities. In its simplest terms, Dynamic allows advertisers to push out message in real time that, Oink Ink says, speak to a specific audience. As such, it makes the listening experience unique — and “addressable.”

That’s clutch in a world where addressable advertising is fueling the television industry’s push to the next gen broadcast standard, ATSC 3.0, as digital media captures more and more ad dollars for its purported capabilities.

Radio now has a similar value proposition, by way of its digital delivery platforms.

Oink Ink explains, “Dynamic Audio campaigns utilize data mining to customize ads based on a variety of factors, including the day of the week, current weather, type of music enjoyed by the listener, listening device, as well as much more deeply connected data points harvested by third-party sources. Crafting ads that are automatically customized for an individual listener allows for the promotion of special offers on products or services geared towards that listener in real time.”

Additionally, digital audio has the “unique capability” to gain feedback through data, making messages less about one-way communication with mass audiences and more about understanding the needs of specific listeners. For radio, built as a mass audience delivery system but largely forgotten for its interactive capabilities, has an opportunity to recapture that dynamic, the Price brothers believe.

“Digital Audio is a natural extension of what we’ve always done,” said Dan Price. “We took notice several years back, and began to work to plant the seeds so that we would be ready when the time came. Our thinking was: ‘While the Silicon Valley guys are busy developing new platforms and technologies, we’ll put Oink in a position to immediately begin to creatively utilize the offerings.’ So often you see new techniques launch, but good ad work doesn’t follow for years.”

In radio, it is crucial to gain and keep the attention of listeners when the only tools being used are the spoken word and use of sound. With streaming services, the Price brothers say the same principles apply.

“Through a mix of short form and Dynamic, presented sequentially (or not), we’re able to tell stories better than we’d been able with traditional radio,” said Jim Price. “That’s because we now have a clearer picture of who we’re speaking to – specifically – with insight to their interests, needs and habits … While some consider radio to be an outdated medium, we recognize its ability to personalize an audio ad experience in a way that no other outlet can.”


Click here to listen to examples of Dynamic Audio advertising created by Oink