The sound of sports

Sound has been an integral part of the sports industry. Up until a few years back, it started with patriotic anthems dedicated to the most cherished teams, or more recently with rap songs dropping beats on popular athletes.

An addition to the sound of sports has seen tie-ups with audio tech companies. Popular audio brands such as Harman, JBL and Beats Electronics have revolutionized the experience for fans watching a game in an arena or between the walls of their living room.

Additionally, the soaring popularity of eSports has increased the need for strong audio equipment more than ever before.

These are facts that are very prevalent and known to us, but another emerging and perhaps more game-changing trend is the emergence of branded audio content or more commonly known as audio branding.

What is audio branding?

Simply put, audio branding is the use of audio instead of video to promote content. An example would be hearing about a new product while listening to your favorite podcast.

Indeed, podcasts have made this type of branding fairly popular. Stats show that over 60 million homes in the US are podcast listeners. In a recent study, Nielsen revealed that podcast listeners are more likely to follow companies and brands on social media.

Therefore, sponsors have been adopting podcasts at an unprecedented rate to educate fans as well as increase their brand’s presence through a new platform.

Rightly so, in times where everyone is busy and constantly on the go, “listening” might provide a better and risk-free output than “watching.”

What are some of the trends that can be seen in the space of audio branding?

1. Audio advertisements during public transport

A subway ride can be a seamless medium for audio-based content. The sky is the limit in the ways a simple subway ride can be leveraged in a timely fashion to promote brands or attract and entertain fans.

2. In-arena/ In-field announcements

We’ve all seen billboards outside an arena or fancy graphics on our way to the seats. These are well-rooted ways to provide exposure to sponsors and spread awareness amongst fans. I see audio acting as a potential option to be incorporated, in this case. Elevator rides, stairwells and passageways within the facility can all be suffused with announcements (branding, scores, seat updates) to provide additional exposure to sponsors and boost other affiliated content

3. Audio AI

• Fan experiences: At the US Open 2018, IBM Watson created an AI-driven experience for fans. Using voice recognition, fans were able to create their own commentary and sights and sounds for the game.
• Game Updates: Sports apps for leagues and teams are giving fans the option to receive updates via voice. MLB “At Bat” for mobile. Another possibility is with commentary being diffused into live games, i.e. League or Team applications pushing downloads by letting consumers block off in-arena sounds to listen to their favorite commentators during a live game?
• Voice biometrics: An up and coming technology, Voice Recognition in Biometrics also known as Voiceprint, is used to identify and authenticate modalities through voice. This can be a great tool to not only enhance customer experience by providing additional ways for authentication, but also sales training by manoeuvring a sales pitch in real time based on customer voices modalities.

Conclusion:

We all know how Siri and Alexa have become strong proponents of this movement. Amazon Alexa is being trained to provide additional sports knowledge and predictions to avid sports fans. Of course, every new technology comes with certain connotations, but all the innovations so far have been a testament to the fact that audio is not just a sidekick to the celebrated visual superhero.

While I’m all ears to experience this growth, are you listening too?