An exciting new wave of consumer habits has pushed audio to the forefront of media. Edison Research and Triton Digital revealed in The Infinite Dial 2019, that an estimated 144 million people tune into podcasts, 189 million are online consuming audio weekly (both AM/FM and streaming content), reporting an average of nearly 17 hours of listening per user per week.

This massive increase in listening is giving brands a new way to tap into their consumer’s minds. Audio is a powerful marketing medium that reaches consumers imagination, transports them to a memory and evokes feeling that causes action.

Boasting flashy facts and product stats can be great to show that your product may be the best, winning all the awards, however, consumers are less concerned with the specs of your business and more concerned with what you do for them The more conversational and meaningful you make your audio message, the more receptive listeners will be. One of the best ways to evoke feeling and connection with your audience is to find out who your customer is and how you fit into their lives. Are they the dreamers, always looking for the next big idea? The moms who just want a minute of peace?

Purpose-led brands and meaningful ads strike a chord with listeners – they tell listeners why you’re in business and why they should trust the brand. Leading with brand purpose turns a potential one-time transaction into a loyal relationship and association with your brand. While rewarding, sharing your purpose shouldn’t be treated as a marketing gimmick to pull on the heartstrings of consumers. The brand purpose should come authentically from the heart of the business and trickle down to every employee. When your brand’s mission is lived out, it will unite customers and you’ll have a more engaged and loyal audience.

When talking about brand purpose, marketers often list off flashy brands like Starbucks, Apple, and Patagonia. And while yes, these are great examples, you don’t have to have a major consumer brand to build a story that connects.

As a long-standing leader creating exceptional machinery, Caterpillar (CAT) could easily sell their equipment and rely on their quality and the latest engineering specs maintain their business. However, they instead choose to recognize that the world is created together, person by person, working with the machines.That their customers are the doers that make the dreamer’s dreams happen. In CAT’s recent campaign, Let’s Do the Work, they bring that message to life. The visuals are great but listen to the audio. The feeling the song gives, the power of the voice. It evokes the feeling of getting the job done, of pride, of wanting to belong to this group of doers. This type of campaign takes the CAT brand from a technical “boring” product to a company their customers want to be a part of. It reaches out through the speakers and makes them feel something.

While most waves seem to come and go, audio has proven it’s here to stay. Juniper Research predicts that Americans will be using nearly 900 million voice-assistant-enabled devices across smartphones, tablets, PCs, speakers, TVs and cars by 2022. These voice-assistants and smart speakers are taking audio out of our cars and into every aspect of our lives. The opportunities to build those lasting connections through audio are endless.