Collaboration means growth for Bonneville

Overview – award-winning audio content:

Bonneville International is recognized for its excellence as a major media company. The company's radio stations have won prestigious accolades, such as KTAR-FM in Phoenix receiving the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Crystal Heritage Award for winning five Crystal Radio Awards. Their podcast division, KSL Podcasts, has also produced critically acclaimed content, with "Cold" being specifically recognized and nominated for a Peabody Award. Bonneville is committed to quality storytelling and community service.

Objective/issue:

Bonneville sought a podcast/streaming tech provider that offered more than just technology. They needed a partner who understood the industry's challenges and opportunities, was nimble and innovative, and prioritized real collaboration.

They faced the typical challenges of modern audio publishers, including the need to effectively monetize their digital content and manage both linear (radio streams) and non-linear (podcasts) listening experiences.

SoundStack has proven to be the ideal partner for our streaming and podcasting initiatives. From the beginning, we knew SoundStack was more than a vendor. Despite hundreds of podcasts belonging to dozens of producers published in all time zones, SoundStack led the migration to their platform with exemplary customer service. They set expectations high from the beginning and maintain that level of service years into the relationship...

Approach:

Bonneville turned to SoundStack for a "full-stack" of technology and services to unify management of their podcast and streaming businesses. This approach eliminated the need for separate platforms, reducing duplicate work in ad scheduling, overall management, and reporting.

Key components include:

• Ad monetization: Through SoundStack's programmatic marketplace, Bonneville opens up its audio inventory to more advertisers, ensuring their shows earn as much ad revenue as possible.
• Dynamic ad insertion (DAI): The SoundStack platform, including its proprietary Dynamic Audio Server (DAS), allows for the dynamic insertion of ads into both live audio streams and podcasts. Delivering ads at the time of download or stream ensures access to more of the right buyers and that every available ad impression is monetized optimally.
• Audience insights and reporting: The platform provides a single, simple view of overall performance for both podcasts and streams, giving Bonneville's team data to make more informed decisions.
• Technology and infrastructure: SoundStack's global content delivery network (CDN) and cloud automation ensure reliable and high-quality audio delivery. This is crucial for handling live radio streams and unexpected traffic spikes.

...The SoundStack team is eager to listen to ideas, offer insights and solutions, and meet our needs as a broadcast company.  Our continued growth in the audio space necessitates we work with a company that  understands our challenges and can help us achieve our goals for audience and revenue growth.  SoundStack, the team and the platform, have provided us everything necessary to do just that.  James Bottorff, VP, Digital Strategy

Results:

The partnership yielded myriad benefits for Bonneville:

• Increased Monetization: SoundStack's programmatic approach and dynamic ad insertion capabilities helps Bonneville meet its goal of monetizing every available ad impression.
• Operational Efficiency: By consolidating streaming and podcast management into a single platform, reporting and ad scheduling is much more efficient.
• Enhanced Strategic Planning: With a unified view of their digital audio content and clear insights, Bonneville can "think differently" about how to best deliver ads to specific audiences.
• Improved Collaboration: True partnership and collaboration with SoundStack has been, and continues to be, a key factor in Bonneville’s growth.

To learn more about this case study or SoundStack’s monetization offering, contact us.