BookBeat drove brand awareness in the audiobook market with multi-channel advertising

BookBeat invested in multi-channel advertising and increasing brand awareness in a new market. Sanoma has worked as an advertising partner, which has helped the company reach mass audiences.

From tactical to brand marketing, targeting all of Finland

When BookBeat launched its audiobook streaming service in Finland in May 2016, the local audiobook market was nearly nonexistent. In Sweden, where BookBeat also operates, audiobook consumption had already soared and showed great promise.

In Finland, BookBeat opted for tactical advertising and measuring sales from the start. Soon, brand advertising was thrown in the mix to increase the company’s awareness in the long run.

BookBeat wanted to market audiobooks on a wide scale and decided that a multi-channel approach was the best course of action. “Our task was to educate people on the benefits of audiobooks and draw attention to the brand,” says Rosa Bergheim, Marketing Director of BookBeat.

Beginning in 2020, BookBeat has partnered with Sanoma, which provided an extensive channel selection and media expertise guaranteeing major visibility across Finland.

Becoming Finland’s number one audio and e-book service

The company’s advertising has covered Total TV advertising, radio and digital channels and print advertising, including the front page of Finland’s largest newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. BookBeat wanted to reach as large an audience as possible, and Sanoma’s channel selection offered an excellent opportunity for this.

“We wanted to be present in quality media and the channels for reaching all Finns. Total TV has been included from the start – it is a very important channel for us, as the share of TV streaming keeps growing,” Bergheim notes.

Advertisements have highlighted BookBeat’s book selection, along with the BookBeat name to the masses. Campaigns have ranged from multi-channel book launches to advertising entire book series and book recommendations. Digital campaigns have included holistic advertising and banners on major Finnish media. Print media have also been an important channel.

BookBeat has been the market leader in audiobooks since its launch year, and collaboration with Sanoma has played an important part in maintaining this position.

“Today, most Finns know about audiobook services, and the name BookBeat. This would not have been possible without mass media,” Bergheim states.

One-stop shop for media expertise and knowledge

The Finnish audiobook markets have grown at an incredible rate in Finland, Bergheim says. BookBeat estimates that at the end of 2016, Finland had approximately 10,000 consumers paying for audiobooks. Currently, over 7% of Finland’s population are estimated to be paying audiobook customers.

This signifies freedom and new possibilities in advertising. “We want to retain our position as the market leader,” says Bergheim “which means we have to challenge ourselves and boldly explore new ways of doing marketing.”

In addition to its significant channel selection, Sanoma offered expertise in media work and has provided training in media buying in Finland and Sweden. According to Bergheim, Sanoma has been a diverse media partner for BookBeat.

“All knowledge about different media is valuable, and we have received much help for planning our advertising,” Bergheim says.

Sanoma’s goal has been to support BookBeat’s extensive marketing know-how in all ways possible. Sanoma’s Key Account Manager Olavi Kajantie lauds BookBeat’s openness towards different advertising possibilities. “BookBeat immediately embraced the multi-channel approach and actively explored different advertising solutions,” he says.

In the future, BookBeat will measure advertising and brand awareness in more detail to examine advertising results on a channel-specific level. “It will be very interesting to follow how campaigns executed with Sanoma affect brand awareness even monthly,” Bergeim states.

— Read more about partnerships in media advertising.