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Company: Audacy, Philadelphia, PA
Company Description: Audacy, Inc. (NYSE: AUD) is a scaled, multi-platform audio content and entertainment company with the country’s best radio broadcasting group, a leader in virtually every segment of audio, and America’s #1 creator of original, premium audio. Audacy engages over 200 million consumers each month, bringing people together around the news, sports, podcasts and music that matter to them.
Nomination Category: Marketing Campaign Categories - Specialty
Nomination Sub Category: Re-Branding / Brand Renovation of the Year
 Nomination Title: Audacy
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated campaign or program, OR written answers to the questions for this category? CHOOSE ONE:
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
Audacy re-brand was launched on March 30, 2021.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this second question: Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
4,000 employees. 230 stations. 46 markets. Multiple partner companies. One previously inconceivable pandemic. And one audaciously big idea. That’s the backdrop for Entercom’s first-ever re-branding campaign, created to unify every aspect of our diverse, dynamic business. Over the three years leading up to 2021, we had transformed into a scaled, multi-platform audio content and entertainment brand. We’d grown into the country’s best collection of leading radio stations and premium, original broadcast, podcast, and digital content—but our brand no longer reflected who we’d become, or our vision for the future. We needed a new identity that reflected the sum of all our individual parts; captured our reimagination and vitality; embodied the breadth and power of our platform; and inspired our employees, our listeners, and our partners. Amidst the COVID-19 lockdowns that forced us to find new ways to collaborate remotely, we took on the challenge of leaning into our new vision and our new identity. Led by our corporate Marketing team, every one of our employees, markets, stations, and partner companies felt like they had a stake in the game. They enthusiastically supported our transition, unveiled on March 30, 2021, as our newly re-branded company, Audacy—a name that connotes all of who we are: part Audio, part Odyssey, part Audacious. But we didn’t stop there. Dubbed “Audacy: An Audio Universe of Discovery & Connection,” our rebranding initiative aimed to create a bold future not just for our newly branded company, but also for the entire audio and entertainment industry.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 231 words used.
Our revolutionary campaign is founded on our purpose—“to bring people together around what moves them in an audio universe of discovery and connection”— and focused through our master branding. It makes the most of every equity-building touchpoint, and inspires our employees, our listeners, and our partners.
These powerful elements were key:
- Visual and Sonic Identity: With its distinct color palette, graphic sonic signature, vibrant logo animation, and resounding sonic logo, our branding is a visual tribute to sound. Every element offers a full spectrum of design options from hum to roar, evoking our platform’s full range of emotions and experiences from quiet one-on-one podcasts to rollicking rock-and-roll events.
- B2C Rebrand: We launched our consumer-facing Audacy app and Audacy.com website to raise awareness of our name change, drive increased traffic, acquire new users, and amplify the celebrity of the Audacy brand—promoting our platform’s biggest stars, from Ellen Pompeo to Demi Lovato.
- B2B Rebrand: Seeking to generate awareness and position Audacy as the industry leader, we appeared everywhere CMOs, media partners, and social media followers would see us: trade publications, digital media, out of home, social media, search, site takeovers, key media placements, and trade partner emails in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Adweek, and AdAge. On launch day, we unveiled our newly rebranded B2B website: www.AudacyInc.com. This transformation culminated in key activations including the NYSE Bell Ringing.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of 2020. Even if your initiative started before 2020, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of 2020 only (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
The team’s outstanding efforts to launch the Audacy rebranding resonated throughout the industry:
- Media: Our news earned breaking launch day coverage from Variety, Forbes, and Bloomberg; plus hits from Axios, The Verge, Deadline, Billboard, and Vulture; and subsequent coverage from leading local publications and top industry trades. Further amplifying the brand were exciting announcements including an exclusive podcast partnership with superstar Demi Lovato, new original podcasts airing exclusively on Audacy’s digital platform, and our BetMGM partnership. The campaign garnered 125 placements and, in the first month, more than 4,300 impressions. Launch Media Highlights Link Attached
- Brand Awareness and Brand Sentiment: After just 24 hours of organic social content, Audacy saw 89% positive sentiment on Twitter, 5,656 messages, 17,000 clicks to Audacyinc.com, and more than 63 million impressions.
- B2C: Tremendous platform growth included a 30% increase in app installs, 18% month-over-month growth, and, within the first month, 10,000 new social media followers.
- B2B: Within the first 30 days, Audacy experienced a thundering increase in brand awareness and demand for our advertiser portfolio, with 50 million impressions across all channels, 2 million YouTube and connected TV video views, and 10,000 new website users.
- Newfronts and Podcast Upfronts: Leveraging the industry’s highest-profile stages, we celebrated audio and presented our story in the Digital Newfronts, where we were the only audio company, and Podcast Upfront. We were side-by-side with the industry’s biggest brands at a moment when media holding companies were making high-level channel and budget allocation decisions.
- You have the option to reference here any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 70 words used.
Supporting Material:
Audacy Brand Film: Click to Watch: https://vimeo.com/563755848/1579356ac0
Launch Media Highlights: Click to View:
https://entercom.box.com/s/qybb1qy0krlkrwqqad0pbfowr9g5tmel
Audacy Brand Visual and Sonic Identify Overview: Click to View:
[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]
Brand Launch Paid Media Summary: Click to View:
https://entercom.box.com/s/eou3oklabnktmosiqvacdfsdanr422gq
Audacy NewFronts Video Presentation Added for optional viewing as this video file is 20 mins in length: Click to Watch: https://vimeo.com/563811495/6591f80d0c
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