Vertical Playbook · Audio

Audio.

When audio platforms fight for US brand budget, the bottleneck isn't reach — it's the buyer narrative.

  • Big US TAM, single-digit share-of-voice.
  • Holdco MSA on the wish list, no path.
  • Attention proof not landing with agencies.
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Playbook snapshot

Qualify yourself in 10 seconds.

Evgeny Popov Evgeny Popov
playbook/audio
Best for
In-game audio platforms, audio-DSP and audio-SSP businesses, podcast networks, dynamic creative audio vendors, and audio measurement / attention companies.
Typical trigger
We have huge TAM in the US but our share-of-voice is 20% — should be 80%.
Engagement shape
Audit → Advisory Retainer (3-6-12 ladder)
Core output
US Americas GTM for an in-game audio category leader
Time horizon
3 to 12 months (operator ladder)
Best mapped to
Advisory Retainer, opened by a Market Entry Audit. The 3-6-12-month ladder is the cadence of the retainer.
You are here

If any of these sound like your meeting last week.

  • “We have huge TAM in the US but our share-of-voice is 20% — should be 80%.”

  • “Agencies don't believe our low-retention-impact claim. We have proof — but the story isn't landing.”

  • “We need a Dentsu / OMG / Publicis MSA but no entry point.”

  • “Our attention economics don't translate to agency podcast or audio buyers.”

This is not for you if
  • You're Pre-Series A / Pre-PMF — no enterprise traction or buyer urgency.
  • You want a media-mix line item without sharpening the buyer narrative.
  • You need a vendor-comparison spreadsheet, not a designed go-to-market motion.
  • You're not willing to narrow ICP or kill segments that look promising but don't close.
  • There is no internal owner to carry the work after the engagement ends.
What I bring to this vertical

Three operator anchors.

Operator thesis
When audio platforms fight for share of US brand budget, the bottleneck isn't reach — it's the buyer narrative. I've built that narrative for an in-game audio category leader, a global audio-data platform, and one of the first programmatic DSPs in APAC. The work is translating technical wins (attention, intent signals, non-intrusiveness, consent-first) into language brand committees evaluate — and turning that into a holdco MSA pursuit.
Evgeny Popov

  1. Brand-side narrative architecture

    Translated technical audio wins into language brand committees evaluate. Author of the EARO framework (Exposure → Attention → Relevance → Outcome) and the “Relevance Realization” essay — applied cognitive science to media economics.

  2. 6-holdco C-level + Dentsu MSA experience

    Signed a global Dentsu + Amplifi master agreement while at Verve Group. C-level relationships across Omnicom, Publicis, WPP Media, Stagwell, Dentsu, and Havas spanning 15+ years.

  3. Operator cadence: 3-6-12 month construct

    Internal (A-player upgrade + M-Sales construct) → External (holdco re-intro + verticalized case studies) → Innovation (Contextual In-Game Audio, SSAI, Branded Audio). Revenue ladder modeled and tracked at IC level — book of business 274% on-target in LATAM in Q1 24.

Representative engagement pattern from an in-game audio category leader (12-month operator engagement archetype). Client names, decision-makers, and revenue targets are masked; operating logic and public career anchors are retained.

On the operator’s shelf285 books
Cover of Paid Attention by Faris Yakob
Cover of Influence by Robert B Cialdini PhD
Cover of Nudge by Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein
  • Paid Attention · Faris Yakob
  • Influence · Robert B Cialdini PhD
  • Nudge · Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein
Where this was learned
  • Verve Group logo
The evidence under this playbook

Counted, Not Heard

The State of Audio Advertising in 2026

  • 34vendors scored on 12 dimensions
  • 7deep profiles with SWOT
  • 640claims re-checked
Read the paper
Signature framework

Signal → Spend.

Technical proof on the left (waveform, attention, intent) translated through the operator vocabulary that brand committees actually evaluate (consent-first, retention-safe) into the budget commitment ladder on the right.

Plate 01 · Signature framework
An audio mixing desk: three faders — technical proof, translation, brand budget — set signal into spend Signal → spend Technical proof: attention that holds Technical proof Proof Translation: a buyer narrative Translation Story Brand budget: holdco MSA path Brand budget Budget Master: share of brand budget Master
Sample deliverable archetype

What ships, shaped like this.

US Americas GTM for an in-game audio category leader

12-month phased operating plan: A-player team upgrade, M-Sales construct deployment, holdco MSA pursuit, innovation pipeline showcase, and revenue ladder tied to named-account pursuit at the CMO / VP / Director level.

  1. 01
    A-player hiring formula + onboarding certification (Brilliant Basics)
  2. 02
    M-Sales construct — Sales + Marketing tied to revenue quota
  3. 03
    Holdco profile decks (Dentsu / Amplifi / Carat / iProspect / dentsu X)
  4. 04
    Decision-maker mapping for each holdco
  5. 05
    Verticalized case studies (QSR, Auto, Streaming, Pharma, Telco)
  6. 06
    Innovation pipeline (Contextual In-Game Audio, SSAI, Branded Audio)
Show all 8
  1. 07
    CRM + dashboard + BI deployment with weekly cadence
  2. 08
    Industry event roadmap across Cannes, Possible, CES, and RampUp

Sample structure only — no client data. Final artifact is shaped to the engagement, the data available, and the decisions the read needs to drive.

Engagement cadence

3-6-12 month operator ladder

  1. 01

    3 months · Foundation

    Internal readiness + initial external pipeline.

    • Sales team capability audit + gap closure
    • CRM / BI / forecasting standardization
    • Tier-1 agency outreach using existing network
    • Market SWOT vs. AdsWizz, DAX, InMobi, iHeartMedia, Voxnest, A Million Ads, Veritone One
    • First holdco profile deck (Dentsu deep-dive as exemplar)

    MilestoneQ3 IC pipeline ~$200–$300K based on $100K deal-size × 2

  2. 02

    6 months · Sales scale + proof

    A-player expansion, M-Sales construct, vertical case-study deployment.

    • Additional A-player hires across priority US regions
    • M-Sales construct: Sales + Marketing tied to quota with quantified goals
    • 5+ major brand / agency relationships locked
    • Verticalized case studies (Entertainment, FMCG / CPG)
    • Industry event presence (CES, MWC, P I/O, Digiday, RampUp)

    MilestoneH2 revenue $500K–$1M; Land-and-Expand strategy fully deployed

  3. 03

    12 months · Category leadership

    National scale + thought leadership + innovation showcase.

    • National A-player team (West, East, Central) with BHAG model
    • Fully automated M-Sales construct
    • Strategic alliances with gaming publishers
    • Vertical expansion (Auto, Retail, CPG)
    • Awards + brand-presence splash across Cannes, Possible, CES, and RampUp

    MilestoneY2 revenue ladder to $5M; 10+ high-value clients (whales); default in-game audio partner of choice

Competitive frame

Who you're benchmarking against.

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  • AdsWizz
  • DAX
  • InMobi
  • iHeartMedia
  • Voxnest
  • A Million Ads
  • Veritone One

Engagement work includes a SWOT vs. peer set, positioning roadmap, and competitive-takeover plays where the wedge is clear.

Terms used in this playbook

Operator vocabulary, defined.

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M-Sales
Sales and Marketing operating as a single quota-linked growth function — Marketing pulled into revenue accountability, not treated as demand-gen support.
BHAG model
Big Hairy Audacious Goal — a 24-36 month stretch revenue ambition that frames territory design, hiring quotas, and partner sequencing.
Whale model
Multi-million-dollar named-account pursuit with multi-year contract logic — concentrated effort on a small list of strategic brand committees.
Recent writing on this vertical

Applied thinking, published.

Related playbooks

Same vertical. Different operating layer.

When the vertical is clear, the next question is which company system carries the strategy.

Market references last validated: June 7, 2026. Revalidate before pitch use.

Next step

Trying to turn audio proof into brand budget?

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