The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) presented a recap webinar on Tuesday, with the importance of audio and its commanding attention being the lead topic.

Dentsu collaborated with Lumen Research to conduct three studies on audio formats, including podcasts, radio, and music streaming. The studies revealed that audio outperforms video to grab people’s attention and generate brand recall.

“Audio is the one medium that is surpassing Dentsu norms,” Audacy Senior VP of Research and Insights Idil Cakim told Podcast News Daily. “It’s a wonderful cross-media platform snapshot talking about the importance of audio and the attention that it commands.”

Dentsu conducted a study to analyze how audience attention affects brand recall. The study found that audio ads outperformed other advertising campaigns analyzed by Dentsu, achieving a brand recall accuracy of 41%, which exceeds the average of 38%.

Additionally, the brand choice uplift for audio ads was 10%, nearly double the norm of 6%. Researchers largely ignored audio when studying attentiveness for video until Dentsu and Lumen Research’s Attention Economy project in July.

During Tuesday’s IAB Zoom discussion, PwC’s ad forecast was revisited. The estimates project that podcast revenues will increase by 25% year on year, reaching $2.3 billion by 2023 and $4 billion by 2025.

Changes are coming to the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) as Tom Brand resigned from his executive director position. The resignation will take effect on December 31.

Brand became a member of the NAFB team in August 2011 after serving as farm director at KFEQ Radio in St. Joseph, Missouri.

“I want to thank Tom for his leadership of NAFB for the last 12-plus years,” Joe Gill, NAFB’s 2023 president, said. “His passion and dedication to farm broadcasting has been invaluable, and I’m truly grateful for his service to the NAFB.” 

The National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s executive board and its directors will lead the search for a new executive director, and the organization will share information about the pursuit once it is announced.

“A lot of things have changed since I came to NAFB in August 2011. Our industry looks different, but it has done a wonderful job remaining relevant and is positioned for the future. I’m pleased with the status of the association, noting growth in multiple areas — membership, offerings to members, financial stability, and impact to the agriculture community,” Brand said. 

“Looking back on more than 30 years of involvement with NAFB, I recognize listeners are truly connected to their farm broadcasters; advertisers understand the importance of that connection; and I know farm broadcasting is proven and will continue to deliver its message to this important part of the nation’s economy.”

Bloomberg Media CEO M. Scott Havens is departing his role to become the President of MLB’s New York Mets.

Havens was elevated to the CEO of Bloomberg Media in January of last year, after previously serving as Chief Growth Officer and Global Head of Strategic Partnerships.

He joined the company in 2015 after spending time as the Senior Vice President of Digital at Time Inc. He was also the President of The Atlantic, and also spent time at Portfolio.com, and Yahoo! Finance, among others.

In his new role, Havens will report directly to New York Mets owner Steve Cohen.

“The opportunity to join the Mets organization is a lifelong dream fulfilled,” said Havens. “I’m thrilled to build upon the great work underway, accelerating the push to modernize our strategy across the organization, driving new digital and media innovation, and ultimately, to provide our fans with the best experience in sports. I’m grateful to Steve and Alex for this opportunity and am looking forward to working with the entire leadership team to shape the future of the Mets together.”

“Bringing someone on board of Scott’s caliber is an exciting development for the Mets organization,” added Mets Owners Steve and Alex Cohen. “Scott has vast experience leading world-class media and digital technology-led companies such as Bloomberg Media and Time Inc. and he’ll provide a modern vision and strategic direction for our organization.