Internal Training Platform to Empower Marketers on Best Practices To Leverage Audio’s Full Potential For Brands 

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 23, 2020 – Spark Foundry, the largest North American media agency within Publicis Media, in partnership with iHeartMedia, the leading audio company in America and No. 1 commercial podcast publisher, announced today the launch of the Audio Academy – a  digital interactive training platform focused on today’s evolving audio landscape. Composed of multimedia training modules produced by some of the industry’s foremost professionals, Audio Academy will feature a comprehensive curricula, designed to provide thought leadership and enable breakthrough strategies. Audio Academy will launch at Spark Foundry in late September on Publicis Groupe’s AI-driven connectivity platform Marcel before rolling out across Publicis Media later in the year.

“From sonic branding to podcasting to streaming, recent innovations in the audio industry require us to think more holistically and strategically than ever before,” said Chris Boothe, CEO, Spark Foundry. “As a leader in the audio industry, iHeartMedia, is the ideal partner to launch the Audio Academy with. The interactive training program will provide continuing education to keep our talent best-in-class, and empower Spark Foundry to strategically harness audio channels to drive growth for our clients.”

The Audio Academy curriculum has been developed by key talent in the audio space, and created from in-depth analysis and insights of trends and innovations to drive key strategies on how to best approach planning, buying and measuring of audio campaigns on behalf of brands.

The training will entail two modules constructed to deepen one’s comprehensive understanding of the evolving audio ecosystem and sharpen the expertise in defining the best approach to planning and buying in relation to consumer listening habits which includes broadcast radio, podcasts, streaming, creating sonic identities, and measurement among other critical areas of the audio business.

“The demand for audio education is at an all-time high during Covid, because radio is the biggest reach medium offering the most agility to adapt messages quickly market by market as consumer and brand needs are changing faster than ever. There is no more trusted, flexible and affordable medium than audio,” said Gayle Troberman, CMO of iHeartMedia. “Leading agencies, like Spark Foundry, that recognize the need for more audio education will be better positioned to identify new growth opportunities for clients during this critical time. We are thrilled to be able to bring our knowledge, insights, influencers and scale across radio, digital, podcasts and events to help Spark develop the leading audio education platform.”