What Exactly Will Katz Be Doing With Vibenomics?

Former Emmis Executive Paul Brenner, who is the Chief Strategy Officer at Vibenomics, used his experience with the radio industry to strike this deal with Katz Digital. We spoke to Brenner about the deal, exactly what Vibenomics does and asked him what the goal of the company is.

Radio Ink: What will you be doing for Katz?
Brenner: By adding Vibenomics’ premium Audio Out-of-Home ad inventory to its portfolio, Katz can now extend the reach of broadcast radio in to those critical last footsteps along the path to purchase when a listener is inside a store, actively making a purchase decision, and unreachable via any other B2C audio advertising formats.  Each Vibenomics brick-and-mortar store is a custom radio station where advertisers can talk directly to their target audience right at the point of sale.  

Radio Ink:  Tell us how this deal came about?  
Brenner:  My time at Emmis Communications equipped me with invaluable experience in audio entertainment, advertising and data analytics. Armed with this knowledge, I quickly realized that Vibenomics’ audio out of home solution is disruptive and  complementary to traditional radio ad buys. When we launched our audio out-of-home ad market and partner program, Vibenomics experienced prolific growth in our network of retail locations where advertisers can run campaigns. Our retail customers are thrilled by the prospect of transforming their audio experience, which has traditionally been a cost, into an entirely new revenue stream and profit center, all made possible by selling advertising on their private airwaves.  With such a rapid expansion of our national footprint, it made perfect sense to enlist the support of Katz Digital to accelerate our ad sales with both national and local brand advertisers. Katz is the clear leader in audio representation, and brings the perfect mix of expertise, infrastructure and relationships Vibenomics needs at this important juncture for our business to scale.  

Radio Ink:  Give us an example of how this new relationship will work?  
Brenner:  Katz representatives are now able to add out-of-home audio advertising to their clients’ media plans.  Ad spots are sold as digital audio on a one-to-few basis dependant upon an impression multiplier, with SafeGraph serving as a 3rd party data partner for verifying visits and average dwell times at each location in the Vibenomics Ad Marketplace.  Through our recent integration with Triton Digital’s SSP, Katz is assigned a unique Deal ID that gives their DSP (Adswizz) guaranteed access to premium audio out-of-home ad inventory where they can overlay 1st or 3rd party data and book campaigns programmatically.  

Radio Ink:  In a nutshell explain Vibenomics.
Brenner: Our cloud-based audio experience and location-based advertising technology is transforming location-based audio marketing. Powerful enterprise technology allows retailers to program just the right vibe for their place of business through revolutionary place-based streaming. Audio advertising and merchandising opportunities for brands are custom curated to entertain and reach consumers directly at the point-of-sale.  Each Vibenomics location receives a proprietary plug-and-play IOT media player to deliver live, real-time audio.  

Radio Ink:  What do you want the radio industry to know about Vibenomics?
Brenner:  The radio industry is enjoying the resurgence of audio. While traditional radio is exploring other growth mediums such as smart devices for in-home and podcasting for distribution, Vibenomics believes our approach to audio out-of-home advertising extends the proven power of audio right up to that critical moment of truth at the point of sale.  Our retail audio platform is unique in its ability to serve all content, including ads, in real-time with a programmatic integrated ecosystem, creating a frictionless buying experience. We aren’t looking to divert ad dollars from other audio formats, but rather see ourselves as a natural complement to any audio buy that extends relevance and reach in innovative new ways for progressive advertisers.    

Radio Ink: What is the goal of the company? 
Brenner: Our goal is to increase audio’s overall share of ad spend by elevating its profile and relevance for today’s digital first ad buyer.  Other traditional ad channels like out-of-home (OOH) and TV have been reaping the rewards of digital transformation with programmatic offerings like DOOH and OTT, while audio has lagged a bit due to inherent fragmentation and subscription models.  Vibenomics can break through the noise, and unlock the type of reach modern advertisers are seeking.