Star Hospital × Paytunes Audio Campaign Case Study: Driving Emergency Care Awareness

 

 

Campaign Overview / Background

Star Hospital is known for its advanced 24/7 Accident & Emergency services and serves as a trusted medical partner for families across Hyderabad. In August 2024, the hospital partnered with Paytunes for a focused 15-day digital audio campaign designed to strengthen awareness for emergency care among adults aged 20–50. The campaign ran across Wynk, JioSaavn, YouTube Music, PocketFM, and Zeno, ensuring the message reached listeners on the platforms they use most. The goal was simple: increase brand recall for emergency services, drive strong listen-through performance, and generate meaningful engagement among Hyderabad residents.

 

Objectives

• Strengthen brand awareness and recall for Star Hospital’s emergency services. 
• Deliver high-quality engagement measured through LTR, CTR and Reach. 
• Maximize exposure among male and female audiences aged 20–50 in Hyderabad. 

 

Strategy & Execution

• 30-second audio ads paired with companion display banners across leading mobile and digital audio platforms. 
• Frequency capping set to prevent fatigue while ensuring consistent recall. 
• Hyper-local targeting to maintain message relevance within Hyderabad. 
• Lean, listener-friendly audio creative length to maintain attention.

 

Key Results & Outcomes

 

 

• 1.18× uplift in Listen-Through Rate, showing stronger attention and message retention. 
• 0.87× decrease in CTR, indicating the need for clearer click motivation or landing page refinement. 
• 0.44× reach uplift, which highlights potential limitations in audience volume or platform inventory. 

 

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.

 

Star Hospital Ad Execution-

 

 

Audience Demographics & Segmentation

• Adults aged 20–50 (male and female) 
• Hyderabad metropolitan area 
• Platforms aligned with the preferred audio habits of the audience

 

Daypart / Timing Insights

• Delivery remained stable across all 15 days. 
• Average frequency capped at ~4 spots per user for optimal balance. 
• Consistent LTR on peak days showed sustained interest through the duration.

 

Geographic / Regional Performance

 

 

• 100% Hyderabad-focused delivery ensured hyper-relevance. 
• Platforms with strong regional bases reinforced emergency care awareness.

 

The campaign delivered strong Listen-Through Rate (LTR) uplift across key cities, highlighting locations where audiences demonstrated higher-than-average attention to the audio creatives. The following cities emerged as top LTR performers.

 

• Hyderabad (1.18× uplift): High uplift reflects strong audience alignment and sustained listening in a digitally mature metro market. 
• Secunderabad (1.18× uplift): Matching metro-level uplift indicates consistent engagement and effective message delivery across the twin city. 
• Mahabubnagar (1.13× uplift): Positive uplift highlights growing audio adoption and attentive listening behavior in an emerging market.

 

Key Learnings & Takeaways

• Strong LTR confirms that digital audio works well for healthcare messaging. 
• CTR dip and reach limits reveal areas where creative direction and audience scaling can improve. 
• Controlled frequency ensured high recall without listener fatigue.

 

Challenges & How They Were Addressed

• Reach scaled slowly due to precise targeting and platform constraints. 
• Continuous monitoring with Paytunes enabled real-time adjustments. 
• Future creatives should explore stronger motivators to drive clicks. 

 

Recommendations for Future Campaigns

• Use clearer and more compelling CTAs to boost CTR. 
• Add supporting formats to expand reach. 
• Explore multi-format synergy across audio, display, and video. 
• Test different dayparts based on more granular listener behavior.

 

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 Star Hospital 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 1.18x 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	1.18x  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

Star Hospital’s partnership with Paytunes delivered meaningful improvements in listener attention and reinforced the effectiveness of digital audio for healthcare communication. The campaign highlighted audio’s unique ability to hold attention while uncovering opportunities to enhance click performance and expand reach. Brands looking to build powerful, high-recall messaging can benefit greatly from a focused digital audio strategy.

To explore how Paytunes can help your brand achieve similar results, reach out to us through our website.