Hearing is one the first senses developed in the womb, and the last to switch off. Our earliest experiences with stories are in their oral form, which means our brains are wired for audio narratives. Long form audio specifically taps into this primal sense, eliciting emotional responses, anchoring memories, and driving behaviour change. Despite what we may commonly think, audio can elicit greater emotional engagement than stories told through visual mediums.
Memory
At the heart of any compelling audio show is the goal to create ‘impact – a memorable experience that will lead to a desired action by the listener. From something as simple as telling a friend a fact they learned in the pub, to becoming a loyal fan or even engaging with a brand in more tangible ways, an audio experience is only as valuable as the lasting impact it has on its listener.
Luckily, our brains are wired to receive and store new information through stories, not facts. Actually, our survival has, until recently, been based on our ability to adapt to the unknown. Through curiosity and storytelling we have evolved to teach each other about aspects of the world we have not experienced ourselves. Because of this, when information is structured as stories, it activates greater neural activity which influences attention, mental effort, emotional response and memory.
Memories give us capability to learn and adapt, as well as build relationships. Podcasts have been shown to provide listening environments that lend themselves to stronger memories, both in the short and long term memory. This means brands can stay top of mind more easily through podcasting. An example of this can be seen below. The graph depicts the memory encoding to Martin Luther King’s most famous speech when consumed aurally only, or through a video. It shows how strongly the brain is storing the narrative into memory, so it can be recalled later. Despite a commonly-held belief that audio-visual formats are more impactful, you can clearly see that audio alone elicits the strongest response.
