Insight
Most consumers know what audiobooks are, but hadn’t found a place for them in their everyday lives. Audible challenged Initiative to turn this situation around and make audiobooks a familiar part of national life, just like listening to music.
In order to educate the public about the benefits of audiobooks, pin-pointing specific usage occasions would be crucial.
A research article challenged the accepted wisdom that music was the best partner for running, due to the inconsistent beat – a consequence of short-form audio content. Subsequent anecdotal evidence from the client suggested audiobooks could give music ‘a run for its money’.
This led the agency to suspect recreational running could be an as-yet untapped market for audiobooks. It now needed to prove that runners found audiobooks both enjoyable, and crucially, beneficial for performance.
Initiative turned to an authoritative, market-leading voice in the running community, Runner’s World, to explore this theory and turn it into real, robust insight. Recruiting a panel of 400 running enthusiasts, Runners World conducted a study. Each trialist was given a free audiobook and asked to incorporate it into their training routine for one month. The agency measured the impact with pre-and-post research.
The results were astounding. Personal music was predictably the top choice for runners (81%); however, coming second, with a huge 66%, audiobooks were reported to be an excellent companion for running (versus music radio 31%). Moreover, the large majority of trialists found it was beneficial (79%) and improved enjoyment (66% when training), enabling them to run further (58%).
Strategy
There was definitely an untapped market just waiting to be converted to audiobook fandom; the stage was set to make Audible ‘the perfect partner for running’.
Phase 1: Building upon the relationship with Runner’s World, Initiative sought to deepen its involvement with the title’s strong community of running enthusiasts. It wanted to create a group of highly influential, socially connected brand ambassadors who would encourage other runners to listen to audiobooks while running.
Phase 2: The agency choose to amplify the Runner’s World partnership using a news brand that could broaden its reach and deliver Audible’s positive story in a relevant and timely manner, helping further build relevance beyond the niche running community.
The London Evening Standard (LES) was the perfect platform to broadcast the Audible running message to recreational runners for three reasons;
1. Long-established links with The London Marathon meant Audible would be at the heart of the action at a time when running was high on the nation’s agenda, and interest in the sport was at its peak
2. LES’s editorial team had decided to support a new, not-for-profit campaign, called ‘run2work’ which aimed to persuade commuters to run to work instead of driving or using public transport
3. Renowned for championing worthy causes, the LES editorial team has significant clout; it has influenced government agenda and shaped policy through galvanising its two million-strong readership.
With knowledge of the scheme, and editorial plans to support the launch, becoming the lead sponsor for run2work’s campaign was a simple decision for Audible. But this had to go beyond a badging exercise. In addition to being associated with a positive, worthy scheme, it needed the authoritative editorial voice to tell the Audible story. Armed with statistics and testimonials, the campaign needed longevity beyond the run2work day.
Execution
The campaign was launched in the LES during the London Marathon, capitalising on the increased interest around running, reinforcing Audible’s positive association with running.
Using key statistics from the Runners World research the agency co-produced a series of tactical insertions which ran against London Marathon editorial. Each ad featured a new compelling fact, reinforcing Audible’s running credentials.
In the post marathon afterglow, Audible was announced as LES’s launch partner for run2work. Participants were encouraged to join the movement and offered a free Audible download to enjoy on their first run.
The LES editorial team wholeheartedly supported Audible in the build up to the first run2work day;
- 14 pages of newspaper editorial tailored to reinforce the benefits of audiobooks, incorporating research statistics and anecdotal evidence
- Creating a new ‘Audible’ sponsored running channel on www.standard.co.uk.
To celebrate the launch of run2work on June 4th activity culminated in an eight-page sponsored newspaper supplement. Social media, online display, editorial coverage and vendor bills heightened visibility.
Well known personalities, athletes and politicians, including London Mayor Boris Johnson praised the benefits of the run2work movement. High profile support helped raise Audible’s awareness and position them in the public’s consciousness.
Throughout the campaign Audible deepened its relationship with Runners World;
Maintaining a consistent presence through an integrated sponsorship of ‘Run Hub’, runnersworld.co.uk community space where members log runs, diarise training schedules, share information and take part in challenges.
Results
With an extremely limited budget, the campaign hit its objectives:
Educate:
- 14 pages of bespoke LES editorial support which, if paid for ‘advertorial’ content, would equate to over three times the total investment
- 600,000+ impressions over two weeks on the newly created www.standard.co.uk running channel, delivering a click-through rate to audible.co.uk 60% above industry standard.
Profile:
- High-profile celebrities, including Boris Johnson, London Mayor, urged London’s “dynamic workforce to, lace up those trainers and take to the capital’s streets,” in support of run2work
- 10,000 miles logged on ‘Run Hub’ for Audible’s sponsored challenge (equivalent to London to Adelaide!)
Trial:
- 10,000 people delivered to audible.co.uk to claim a free trial
- Over 3,500 people were introduced to audiobooks and motivated to take part in first run2work day
- Cost-per free trial delivery was cheaper than one month’s Audible subscription!
The marathon is over, but the story keeps running! Audible’s voice reached far beyond the confines of the campaign:
- 17,000 views of the Runners World Run2work Facebook post
- Social run2work support including Men’s Health, Run247, Sonic Shock, Watch My Wallet
- A permanent fixture on Run Hub via branded challenge badges
- Continuing presence on www.standard.co.uk running channel (over x5 the paid-for agreement period!)