IAB yesterday named the XAPP Ad for Mack Avenue Records artist Cecile McLorin Salvant as one of five finalists for the Mixx Awards honoring the top digital audio marketing work of 2015. The artist promotion ran on the NPR One mobile app and has been recognized for its innovative use of interactive audio technology to bring listeners closer to Salvant’s unique vocal style.
Innovation Plus Performance
NPR One listeners were prompted to say “listen now” if they wanted to hear some of her music and 3.24% responded. This is about thirty times higher engagement than typical banner engagements on mobile audio. However, that wasn’t all. Of those that listened to the music clip, 18% then said “go to,” which automatically opened up the artist’s iTunes page and enabled the listener to purchase the album.
Mack Avenue Record’s Andreas Wettstein commented during the award application process,
“Cécile McLorin Salvant is a rising star in the Jazz world whose music and style fit perfectly with the NPR audience. Mack Avenue Records is always looking for new and innovative ways to build awareness of her. NPR introduced Mack Avenue to the XAPPmedia’s Interactive Audio Ads platform along with the launch of their NPR One app. Music is always a challenge to advertise because you’re typically trying to advertise audio without being able to actually present any audio – using print ads, banners, etc. While Cécile is visually stunning, the ability to additionally present an easy way for the consumer to conveniently and immediately hear some of her music was the key to trying the Xapp platform for us.”
XAPP Joined by Unilever, Lexus, Sony and Microsoft on the Shortlist
Other shortlisted nominees in the digital audio category include Unilever for “Axe Black – bring back the quiet”; Lexus and Pitchfork for “Pitchfork Radio presented by Lexus”; Sony Pictures, Annie & UM and Shazam for “ShazAnnie”; and Microsoft for “The Sound of Azure.” The category winner will be announced on September 29th during the 11th annual IAB MIXX Awards show in New York City during Advertising Week.
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