The Rise of Programmatic Audio in Healthcare Marketing
Programmatic audio is emerging as a significant trend in identity resolution for 2025, especially within the healthcare marketing space. According to Edison Research’s Share of Ear presents compelling statistics, indicating that 84% of Americans aged 13 and above engage with ad-supported audio content daily. With the rise of audio-based platforms such as podcasts, music streaming services, and digital radio, consumers are increasingly engaging with content in an auditory format. This shift presents healthcare marketers with new opportunities to reach and engage target audiences in a personalized and contextually relevant manner.
Why Programmatic Audio Matters for Identity Resolution:
Expanding Audience Reach: As traditional display advertising faces challenges with cookie deprecation and evolving privacy regulations, programmatic audio offers an alternative channel to connect with audiences where they spend their time. Audio ads can reach consumers across a variety of contexts, from their daily commutes to workout sessions, providing healthcare brands with access to highly engaged and attentive listeners.
Precise Targeting Capabilities: Programmatic audio allows for more advanced targeting by leveraging first-party data and contextual signals. Healthcare brands can target listeners based on demographics, interests, and listening habits, ensuring that the right message reaches the right audience. Additionally, programmatic audio platforms can integrate identity resolution tools to deliver messages that resonate personally, improving relevancy and engagement.
Contextual and Consent-Based Engagement: Audio advertising enables healthcare marketers to shift towards consent-based marketing strategies in a cookieless world. With advancements in contextual targeting, brands can align their messages with the specific context of the audio content (e.g., health and wellness podcasts), fostering a sense of relevance and connection with the listener without relying on invasive tracking methods.
Building and Reinforcing Brand Awareness: The intimate and immersive nature of audio helps create deeper emotional connections with audiences. This is crucial in healthcare marketing, where trust and credibility play pivotal roles. By using programmatic audio strategically, healthcare brands can reinforce their messaging and create more memorable touchpoints, ultimately supporting long-term brand loyalty and patient trust.
Integrating Cross-Channel Identity Strategies: Programmatic audio is not just a standalone channel; it can be integrated into broader, cross-channel identity strategies. By combining audio with other programmatic channels (such as CTV, display, and mobile), healthcare marketers can create cohesive experiences and unified messaging for their target audience. This integration enhances identity resolution efforts by providing a more comprehensive understanding of consumer journeys by linking disparate identifiers across multiple touchpoints.
Personalized and Dynamic Creative Messaging: With programmatic audio, healthcare marketers can utilize dynamic creative optimization (DCO) to deliver personalized audio messages based on real-time data and insights. For example, a healthcare brand might tailor its messaging based on a listener’s past interactions, location, or specific health interests, allowing for a highly relevant and engaging experience.
How is the industry responding to Programmatic Audio?
The rapid growth of digital audio advertising is transforming how advertisers reach their audiences in an increasingly connected world. With advancements in technology allowing for better targeting, transparency, and audience insights, brands are embracing programmatic audio to deliver personalized, data-driven messages to listeners. This shift towards automation reflects an industry-wide response to the evolving consumption habits of digital audio audiences, where logged-in environments and real-time data offer new opportunities for precision marketing.
As programmatic audio continues to expand, it raises a critical question: How are advertisers and industry leaders adapting to this new wave of digital advertising? From advancements in dynamic creative solutions to increased access to programmatic inventory, stakeholders are exploring ways to capitalize on the unique opportunities presented by this emerging channel.
Spotify has partnered with The Trade Desk to pilot its own ad exchange, known as the Spotify Ad Exchange (SAX). This collaboration aims to enhance Spotify’s automated advertising services by initially focusing on video inventory and gradually expanding to audio. The Trade Desk is the first demand-side platform (DSP) connected to Spotify’s new exchange. This partnership enables Spotify to leverage The Trade Desk’s OpenPath technology, streamlining connections between advertisers and Spotify’s inventory. Additionally, Spotify is adopting the Universal ID 2.0 framework, enhancing privacy-compliant targeting capabilities.
The long-term goal of this collaboration is to give advertisers more direct access to Spotify’s audience while improving ad targeting and transparency. Although the pilot currently emphasizes video ads, Spotify plans to integrate programmatic audio capabilities soon, tapping into what experts recognize as a growing channel for digital advertising
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In 2025, as identity resolution continues to evolve alongside new privacy regulations and changing consumer behaviors, programmatic audio presents an innovative and effective channel for healthcare marketers to connect with audiences. By leveraging this trend, brands can create more meaningful engagements, build trust, and ensure their messaging resonates in an increasingly digital and audio-focused world.