Ralph van Dijk, founder of Eardrum introduced his presentation by talking about the power of audio. He referenced Mark Ritson’s research which showed that audio drives a disproportionally large impact for a relatively modest investment. And Byron Sharp's work that shows that Ads should focus on refreshing and building memory structures rather than persuasion.

He introduced the four C’s required for a clear audio strategy, Codes, Consistency, Consolidation and Creatives. Regarding Codes, he explained that sound is still a missed opportunity for a lot of brands. Strong brand linkage and recall go way up when brands use distinctive sounds. For Consistency, Ralph makes the point that all the most effective audio ads in history have a consistent format. When it comes to Consolidation, too many advertisers dabble in audio and spread themselves too thin. For Creatives, all research shows that it is the audio creative, more than anything else, that has the greatest impact on the success of the campaign. An experienced audio creative knows how listeners listen. They know that listeners "lean in" when it comes to talk back radio, podcasts, breakfast radio and they "lean back" when it comes to music radio and music streaming. Audio creatives know the importance of making the listener the co-author.