How Kerala Tourism Achieved Higher Listen-Through Rates with a Pan-India Digital Audio Campaign

 

 

Kerala Tourism, one of India’s most iconic destination brands, partnered with Paytunes to leverage the power of digital audio for nationwide travel inspiration. The 12-day campaign ran in May and focused on reaching listeners across India, excluding Kerala, through premium streaming platforms. By combining immersive audio messaging with companion banners, Paytunes helped Kerala Tourism connect with high-intent audiences during moments of active listening, strengthening awareness and driving meaningful engagement at scale.

 

Objectives

• Increase brand visibility among potential travellers across India.

• Drive strong listener engagement, with priority given to Listen-Through Rate (LTR) followed by Click-Through Rate (CTR).

• Expand unique user reach while encouraging website and WhatsApp enquiries.

• Maintain high completion rates while optimising delivery within the planned budget.

 

Strategy & Execution

• Targeted a broad audience aged 10–50 across all genders to capture diverse travel planners.

• Deployed 15–30 second audio ads across YouTube Music, Wynk, and JioSaavn with a pan-India focus.

• Used companion banners alongside audio to reinforce recall and prompt action.

• Applied frequency caps to ensure balanced exposure and avoid listener fatigue.

• Implemented phased delivery to maintain consistency and adapt to platform-level performance trends.

 

Key Results & Outcomes

 

 

• Achieved a 1.09× uplift in Listen-Through Rate, indicating strong audience retention.

• Delivered a significant 1.7× uplift in Click-Through Rate, reflecting heightened user responsiveness.
• With a reach uplift of 1.002×, the campaign was able to marginally extend its audience footprint and improve overall visibility

• Recorded high completion rates across platforms, underlining audio’s ability to hold attention.

• Successfully met and, in some cases, exceeded planned audio delivery targets.

 

Audience Demographics & Segmentation

• Effectively reached listeners across all age groups within the 10–50 range.

• Ensured balanced exposure across genders through controlled frequency delivery.

• Captured a high volume of unique users, supported by companion banners that enhanced recall.

• Identified opportunities for future refinement using interest-based audience layers.

 

Daypart & Timing Insights

• Stronger performance was observed during mid-week periods, especially Thursday and Friday.

• Listen-Through Rate remained consistently above benchmarks even during weekends.

• Evening and commute hours emerged as key listening windows, supporting higher completion levels.

 

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 were primarily driven by mobile-first consumption, validating Paytunes’ strategy of focusing on audio delivery across smartphones, where user attention and interaction were most consistent.

 

Kerala Tourism Ad Execution –

 

 

Geographic Performance

• Pan-India targeting outside Kerala helped spark interest in inbound tourism markets.

• Urban centres showed stronger engagement, suggesting higher receptivity in metro and Tier-1 regions.

• Results highlighted the potential for deeper regional optimisation in future campaigns.

 

City-wise Segmentation

 

 

The campaign delivered strong listener engagement across key Indian cities, with consistent improvements in Listen-Through Rate. These results highlight how digital audio helped capture and retain audience attention in high-potential urban markets.

• Hyderabad recorded the highest LTR uplift at 1.20×, reflecting strong listener interest and sustained attention.

• New Delhi achieved a 1.20× LTR uplift, indicating high engagement among urban, discovery-led audiences.

• Bengaluru delivered a 1.20× LTR uplift, showcasing strong completion levels among digitally active listeners.

• Kolkata saw a 1.19× LTR uplift, driven by consistent engagement throughout the campaign period.

• Mumbai registered a 1.18× LTR uplift, highlighting steady listener retention in a highly competitive market.

• Indore achieved a 1.16× LTR uplift, demonstrating effective reach and attention in a growing regional hub.

• Chennai recorded a 1.16× LTR uplift, reflecting stable engagement across diverse listener segments.

• Jaipur delivered a 1.18× LTR uplift, indicating strong resonance among culturally driven audiences.

• Pune achieved a 1.18× LTR uplift, supported by high completion rates among young urban listeners.

• Ahmedabad saw a 1.17× LTR uplift, showcasing solid listener attention in a key western market.

Key Learnings

• Audio proved highly effective for destination storytelling due to strong completion rates.

• Platform-level optimisation delivered results, with JioSaavn driving standout CTR performance.

• Frequency capping at three exposures helped sustain LTR uplift without audience fatigue.

 

Challenges & Solutions

• Minor delivery fluctuations in later phases were addressed by reallocating budgets to stronger platforms.

• Variations in banner response led to tighter creative alignment with audio messaging.

• Real-time optimisation through Paytunes’ dashboard ensured consistent performance throughout the campaign.

 

Recommendations

• Focus on mid-week bursts to maximise engagement efficiency.

• Allocate higher CTR-driven budgets to platforms showing stronger response.

• Introduce interest-based and regional targeting to unlock further LTR growth.

 

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 Kerala Tourism 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 achieved a Listen-Through Rate (LTR) of approximately 1.09x higher than 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	70–95	1.09x  higher

 

• 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 70-95 more completion events per 100 impressions than most display or short video placements

 

Conclusion

This campaign demonstrated how a well-executed digital audio strategy can amplify tourism messaging at scale. Through strong Listen-Through Rates, impressive Click-Through uplifts, and sustained audience attention, Paytunes helped Kerala Tourism achieve measurable impact in a competitive environment. The results reinforce audio’s role as a powerful medium for brand storytelling and intent-driven engagement.

Looking to create a similar impact for your brand? Connect with Paytunes and turn attention into action.

 

Also Read – Pearl Academy Digital Audio Campaign Case Study: How Paytunes Improved Listen-Through Rate (LTR)