“Voice does communicate so much more meaning than what you can read. No matter how well written it is, it's still the voice that really carries the meaning of the feeling of that, and you know as a voice actor how important that is and how much more it communicates.”

Jeff Vidler

This week’s the second part of my interview with Jeff Vidler, audio researcher, media analyst and the founder and president of Signal Hill Insights, as we discuss smartphones, Clubhouse, the future of podcast growth and marketing, and his latest audio studies.

The Problem of Downtime

We continue with a look at how much the audio industry has changed over the past ten years, especially as smartphones, smart speakers, and streaming audio have come to replace traditional radio. "One of the things that smartphones do," Jeff explains, "is that they solve the problem of downtime when my mind is free but my eyes are busy and I'm bored." Despite the changing technology, he notes that radio programming itself has turned out to be more resilient than we might have expected, with more 18-to-34-year-olds listening to the radio than reading newspapers or watching network television.

Clubhouse vs Podcasts

Jeff and I also talk about the emergence of Clubhouse as an entirely new form of audio media, and whether it'll replace or enhance the role of podcasts. "Being part of something," he notes, "interacting with something in real-time, is different than settling into a podcast and losing yourself in a podcast, in a story that's being told." We also discuss Apple's recent change to its podcast language, and whether you "subscribe" or "follow" podcasts.

A Whole New Vista

We wrap up the interview with a look at the Megalab Truth Test and the surprising insights it offered about how well people can detect a lie, and some of the upcoming projects Jeff’s working on right now, such as the Radio on the Move study for the Canadian radio industry as well as commercial podcasts and radio contests. "For many years in radio research you weren't finding many new things,” he says, “the last ten years... has opened a whole new vista in audio."

If you'd like to know more about Brand Lift Studies for podcasts, radio, and streaming, you can visit Signal Hill's Brand Lift Help page: https://signalhillinsights.com/brand-lift-help/ to access their free videos on Brand Lift Studies for audio,  as well as a checklist you can use to help set you up for success on your next Brand Lift Study.

Connect with Jeff

Website: https://signalhillinsights.com/

Follow Jeff Vidler on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/JeffVidler

Connect with Jeff Vidler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffvidler/

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Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/