News

Amazon launches audio book brand Audible locally, offering members free content

#ListenUp AudibleAmazon’s audio book platform Audible has launched locally, following a soft launch of the brand last year, with the platform offering members four free books as part of its launch campaign.

Speaking to Mumbrella, Audible executive vice president of international operations Will Lopes said the company which has been in business since 1995, before being bought by Amazon in 2008, had always been an innovator.

“We were the first company to commercialise a digital audio player in 1997, way, way too early,” he joked. “We saw business really take off with the advent of the iPod and we were one of the first, and continue to be, an exclusive audio book provider to iTunes.”

Audible offers customers a $14.95 a month membership which allows them to choose one book in the store each month “regardless of the a la cart price,” Lopes explained.

“And what we find is that globally customers tend to do about 17 books a year, it’s a really strong habituating service that is becoming part of people’s daily lives. Customers tell us all the time that once they join they rediscover the passion of literature.

“What Audible has been doing is really empowering and giving customers the opportunity to utilise times when their eyes are busy but their minds are free to bring books back into their lives,” he said.

Following the brand’s soft launch in November, Audible has focused on ensuring its mobile apps, through which customers typically access content, and its content was right.

“The experience of Audible is being able to sit back and listen to the content, we needed to make sure we had the right content available,” Lopes said.

The launch of Audible locally sees the brand offer customers a free month trial membership, along with a limited amount of free content up until the end of the year. Readers will be able to listen to Dave Hughes narrate the sequel to Go the Fuck to Sleep, You Have to Fucking Eat; Carrie Bickmore read Miles Franklin’s My Brilliant Career as well as audio books of The Family Law and The Rosie Project.

“It really gives Australians a real chance to experience audio for the first time. What we’re doing here is quite unique, we’ve never been out in other territories and able to offer complete, free content. Typically what we do is offer a free trial and then if customers are not happy they can cancel and if they are happy at the end of the month we start to bill them,” Lopes said.

“Here at the launch we’re giving away four really exciting titles. There’s no strings attached, it’s time limited because it’s only available until the end of the year. I’m really excited on both a marketing front and an awareness building front, what the outcome of it becomes.

“These are really great narrators from Australia and great titles from Australia so to be able to offer that for free is a pretty big deal,” he added.

On how the brand will be marketing itself locally, Lopes said Audible has largely been focused on digital marketing.

“At the end of the day we’re a utility for busy people and where we find that audience to be is on mobile devices,” he said. “Search engine and key word marketing is as critical to us as it to other digital businesses.”

On if the brand is working with agencies locally, Lopes named communications agency Text100, who is working on the brand’s launch, including the #ListenUp campaign which includes the free month membership trial and free content as well as a launch event to be held tonight. Lopes said the brand has also been working with media agency M2M, with some of the marketing activity also being completed in-house.

When asked if Audible sources its audio books from publishers or if it creates it own, Lopes said it was a real mix.

“We aggregate books that are produced by publishers, where publishers have a hard time producing them we will license and create content ourselves,” he explained

“We have a great partner here with Belinda who’s been doing a lot of audio publishing for over a decade here, mainly focused on physical. We’re really excited to work with them and bring digital to the front of the market.

“We are the largest audio producers worldwide at the moment,” he added.

Miranda Ward 

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.