Wait for it… audio’s role in building anticipation

Radiocentre’s Head of PR and Communications reflects on PHD’s session on anticipation at Tuning In North.

After more than 12 months planning, I’ve just come back from a long-awaited trip to Australia to visit family. In many ways the anticipation, chatting about what we were going to do and counting down the weeks with my kids, was as enjoyable as the trip itself.

As it turns out, that’s one of the fascinating insights in PHD’s Cultural Currents research project ‘Do Good Things Come to Those Who Wait?’ that was brilliantly presented by Louise Twycross-Lewis and Sophia Field at Radiocentre’s Tuning In North event last month.

The behavioural research study explores anticipation as a multi-dimensional psychological state, that shapes perceived value, desirability and decision-making. Even as on-demand content has exploded in recent years, fuelling a culture of instant gratification, the study reveals how anticipation is still as prevalent, powerful and necessary as ever before. And what’s more, it stimulates spending, which presents a huge opportunity for brands.

The project also highlights how anticipation is contagious and its stronger and more intense when shared. Radio and audio are particularly well-placed to build that excitement. Commercial radio reaches nearly 40m every week, our Generation Audio study shows how it provides listeners with social currency, and our Emotional Multiplier study also demonstrates the medium’s ability to increase levels of both happiness and energy. All of this makes audio a powerful tool for helping brands generate and harness anticipation, as Louise and Sophie brought to life with some compelling case studies.

An award-winning campaign from Global and Netflix saw SQK ‘The Squawk’, a fully immersive pop-up radio station from the world of Stranger Things 5, launched to build anticipation ahead of the final season. And Radio X created a dedicated pop-up station to harness anticipation of the Oasis reunion tour, much like ‘Capital Taylor’s Version’ that appeared ahead of the UK leg of her Eras tour.

And there are many other examples, such as Bauer Media’s multi-station partnership with Samsung which harnessed anticipation around the launch of the new S21 Ultra 5G phone, and The Hits Radio partnership with Aston Villa Women’s Football Team to boost excitement and ticket sales for the biggest matches of the season.

So, to find out more about all of this, why not tune into the recording of this presentation, and any of the other inspiring sessions from last month’s event at our Tuning In hub.

And on a personal note, I can confirm that anticipation does indeed stimulate spending. The receipts we amassed spending as part of the build-up to our trip were not favourable to my bank balance.