American Tourister × Paytunes: How Digital Audio Captured Attention in India’s Mobile-First Market

 

 

Campaign Overview

American Tourister partnered with Paytunes to execute a high-impact 8-day digital audio and podcast campaign under Bundle 2, built to stand out in today’s distraction-heavy media landscape. Activated across Spotify, YouTube Music, JioSaavn, PocketFM and select international radio stations, it delivered a seamless mix of immersive storytelling and precision targeting at scale.

The campaign aimed to drive engagement, hold listener attention, and expand brand reach across India’s mobile-first audience. With Paytunes’ audio innovation and data-led execution, it showcased how smart sound strategy can cut through clutter and deliver real brand impact.

 

Objectives

• Drive brand engagement through immersive audio experiences.
• Attain high listener retention and click-through engagement.
• Maximize reach within the target demographic across India.

 

Strategy & Execution

• Multi-platform activation, including podcasts, music apps, and specialized international online radio stations.
• Central creative consisted of a concise 30-second audio ad plus companion banners.
• Frequency capping ensured repetition without fatigue.
• Data-driven segmentation refined delivery by audience profiles.

 

Key Results & Outcomes

 

 

• Engagement Uplift: LTR improved by 1.11× and CTR by 3.70×, outperforming benchmarks and prior campaigns.
• The campaign achieved 1.00× of the reach goal, ensuring highly relevant impressions. The focused targeting filters and careful scheduling helped deliver quality engagement, even within a competitive inventory environment.
• The CPM remained competitive versus industry standards, underscoring efficient budget allocation.

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Audience Demographics & Segmentation

• Targeted groups were segmented by behavioral, geographic, and device data.
• Strongest engagement was observed among tech-savvy, mobile-first users with high streaming habits.

 

American Tourister Ad Execution –

 

 

Device Type Breakdown & Reach Strategy

• Mobile Android
  Dominated delivery with ~87.74% share of total impressions.
  Primary driver of LTR and CTR uplift across the campaign. 
• Mobile iOS
  Accounted for ~10.92% share, representing the second-largest contributor.
  Played a key role in complementing Android reach, especially among premium users. 
• Tablet (Android)
  Very minimal share (~0.6%)
  Likely contributed to incidental or passive listening sessions. 
• Desktop (Other)
  Represented ~0.42% of impressions.
  Minimal engagement; not a core device for audio-based interaction. 
• Smart Home Devices / Smart Watches
  Combined share 0.17%, highlighting negligible interaction on wearables or IoT devices. 
• Tablet (iPad)
  Lowest delivery at ~0.14%, indicating limited usage among the campaign’s target demographic. 

 

Insight: The campaign’s engagement metrics like LTR and CTR was primarily driven by mobile-first consumption, validating Paytunes’ strategy of focusing on audio delivery across smartphones, where user attention and interaction were most consistent.

 

Daypart/Timing Insights

• Peak engagement was observed during typical commute windows and post-work hours.
• The timing strategy capitalized on habitual listening periods to boost retention.

 

Geographic/Regional Performance

• The campaign delivered PAN India outreach, with notable hotspots in urban metros and tier-1 cities.
• National coverage was broad, but local frequencies varied.

 

Key Learnings & Takeaways

• Audio formats generate superior brand recall and digital interaction when coupled with precise segmentation.
• Reach goals must be calibrated against actual platform capacities and campaign duration to avoid underdelivery.

 

Challenges & How They Were Addressed

 

Challenge: Limited campaign duration made it difficult to maximize learning and adaptively optimize for peak response windows across all platforms.

 

Solution: The team leveraged pre-campaign insights and cross-platform historical data to frontload the strategy, allocating impressions to time blocks and platforms with a track record of higher engagement in similar past campaigns. This proactive approach mitigated some risk of underperformance during the campaign’s narrow window.

 

Recommendations for Future Campaigns

• Expand the platform list to include emerging regional audio apps.
• Loosen audience filters where scale is critical, balanced against engagement priorities.
• Invest in pre-campaign platform capacity audits.
• Visual dashboards should be incorporated for real-time monitoring.

 

Audio Attention in the Real Attention Economy

 

In today’s digital landscape, the battle for user attention is fiercer than ever. The average human attention span has fallen to about 8 seconds—shorter than ever before. Brands must not only grab attention but also sustain it long enough for their message to drive real impact.

 

The Problem: Fleeting Attention on Most Digital Platforms

• Banner and display ads on websites usually keep user focus for only 1.6–2.6 seconds before they are ignored or scrolled past.
• Short-form video ads and reels hold attention for about 7–9 seconds on average before users swipe away or skip.
• This fleeting engagement translates to lower brand recall and minimal action.

 

The Unique Edge of In-Stream Digital Audio

• In the American Tourister × Paytunes campaign, only 30-second in-stream digital audio ads (accompanied by clickable companion banners) were deployed—no other audio or video formats were part of the strategy. 
• Here’s why it matters:
  The campaign saw average Listen-Through Rates (LTR) approximately 1.11x industry norms.
•  This result means a substantial share of the audience listened all the way through—far higher than what visual formats deliver in the same time frame.

 

Attention Economy Benchmarks (per 100 exposures):

Platform/Format	Avg. Attention (seconds)	Completion Rate (per 100)	Audio Attention Uplift
Banner/Display Ads	2–3	12–18	4–8x lower than audio
Short Video (Reels)	5–9	18–25	3–4x lower
Full Video (In-Stream)	7–10	15–25	3–5x lower
Audio (30s spot)	≥25	~88 per 100	1.11x higher than industry avg

 

• Banner ads are rarely noticed long enough to reinforce a message, leading to weak recall.
• Short-form video and reels offer a slightly longer window but are quickly dismissed with a swipe.
• 30-second digital audio ads command undistracted, multitasking-friendly attention, leading to 3–8x more completion events per 100 impressions than most display or short video placements.

 

Listen to the Podcast Version of This Case Study

 

Conclusion

The American Tourister × Paytunes campaign proves that digital audio is a powerful driver of engagement in today’s crowded attention economy. With listen-through and click-through rates surpassing benchmarks, Paytunes’ mobile-first, data-driven strategy ensured brand messages were not just delivered but remembered. 

By focusing on immersive 30-second audio ads, the campaign achieved stronger attention and higher recall than traditional digital formats. For brands looking to unlock the full potential of audio advertising with precise targeting, real-time insights, and scalable impact, Paytunes offers the expertise and technology to deliver measurable results.

 

Also Read – Malabar Gold & Diamonds × Paytunes: Varamahalakshmi Festival Audio Campaign Case Study