• by Amy Corr  @MediaPostOTL, August 9, 2021

Audio is thriving and SXM Media, the sales arm for SiriusXM, Pandora and Stitcher, has launched AQ Academy, a training certification program to beef up agency employees’ digital audio knowledge.

GroupM has served as pilot partner for this program and has been testing it with hundreds of participants over the past month. 

The company’s media strategists, planners, and buyers took the on-demand, multimedia program via interactive lessons that increase audio intelligence. The certification is free and now open to all agencies. 

Course completion takes between 1-2.5 hours and the certification lasts for one year. Attendees can then refresh their certification and explore new tracks and courses that will be added in upcoming months. 

“We have had demand from marketers and agency partners for a comprehensive training on all things audio in this ever-evolving industry,” said Leanne B. Chiazza, Vice President, Training & Enablement at SXM Media.

“It was the WFH lockdown that precipitated the launch with greater urgency. Virtual work - and virtual learning - has become a norm. AQ Academy presents learners with deep industry-specific training, while allowing our media partners to uplevel their staff at scale, at no additional cost to them.” 

SXM Media’s partnership with GroupM began when AQ Academy was in its early stages. Forty participants, from entry level to VP, gave the company feedback on courses, UX design, and participated in focus groups. At launch, 400 GroupM employees took the course. 

Participants get access to exclusive ad demos, consumer behaviors, and content from industry experts via three unique certificates. Digital Audio Advertising Principles gives attendees general knowledge of digital audio advertising. Creative Audio Principles was designed to inspire creatives in the digital audio advertising space. Podcast Advertising Principles takes a deep dive into the advertising side of podcasts and teaches users how to use the medium to reach their target audience.