Audio Provides ‘Consistent And Reliable Touchpoint’ For Back-To-School Advertisers.

For today’s parents, traditional August back-to-school shopping is a thing of the past — as is dependence on video media for ads focused on sales during this season of historically high prices, according to Audacy’s latest Insights blog.

“Parents are no longer waiting for the traditional late-summer rush,” Audacy Senior Manager, Research & Insights Deepika P Das says. “Balancing rising costs while getting everything that their child needs has made this [back-to-school] season evolve into a high-stakes, fast-paced race for brands, where they need to understand the prolonged shopping trends, capture attention and drive conversions with trust.”

According to MRI Simmons, 40% of parents say they plan to start back-to-school shopping earlier than normal this year, while 34% plan to do more back-to-school shopping this year vs. last, and 45% say they’ll be more active in seeking out back-to-school deals and discounts this season.

MRI Simmons also shows that adults in teen households are 10% more likely than typical U.S. adults to say that “advertising helps me choose product to buy for my children,” and twice more likely to say they rely on ads to keep them updated on the latest back-to-school trends and products.

Where does audio media fit into all this? According to Nielsen Scarborough, 80% of parents listen to AM/FM radio every week, with 57% listening to streaming AM/FM and podcasts every month. At the same time, every week 52% watch broadcast TV and 55% watch cable TV, while only 43% are heavy video streamers and 24% are heavy social media users.

“While parents are twice as likely to rely on ads to spot the latest trends and products, their media consumption habits are moving away from traditional video-first channels [while they] make time for audio in their daily lives,” Das says. “Savvy marketers need to deliver a masterclass in reaching both budget-conscious parents and trend-conscious kids, [and] audio is the high-reach, high-engagement platform that meets parents where they are throughout the day. Audio provides a consistent and reliable touchpoint that other channels struggle to match.”

For back-to-school advertisers this season, this means “success requires brands to show up with the right message, in places where parents are already listening and ready to engage. Make sure your audio campaigns speak to their sweet spots: convenience, deals, easy pickup, fast delivery, and loyalty rewards. This year, help parents slay their school-supply list with the power, reach and trust found only in audio, and ensure that you are the first choice when the school bell rings.”