Are marketers ready to unlock audio’s full potential to drive results for their goods and services? On the heels a white paper from WARC Advisory and Audacy designed to break down barriers to audio ad spend, Audacy Senior VP, Research & Insights Ray Borelli dispels a series of commonly held myths about a medium meant to be heard, not seen. “Why audio is the untapped ‘Moneyball medium’” is the title of a Borelli-penned op-ed for Ad Age that also quotes top media buyers, sellers and measurement specialists responsible for millions in ad investment.
“Audio is the most underutilized medium in terms of the payback it can potentially offer advertisers,” said one agency executive that participated in the study, which Inside Radio reported on last week. “People have a preconceived notion of what works and what doesn’t, irrespective of whether it’s true or not. This hinders both audio and our ability to diversify the channel mix more generally.”
Added a senior director of media in the retail sector: “I’ve always felt that audio is an integral part of the mix. It hasn’t had the significant declines in audiences that you’ve seen in print and linear TV, plus podcasts and streaming provide new ways to reach customers.”
Grace Kite, founder of consultancy Magic Numbers, went a step further calling audio “the Moneyball medium.”
Massive Rift
Radio broadcasters have complained for years that their medium is vastly under-utilized by advertisers and its share of ad dollars is grossly out of synch with its share of time spent with media. A landmark WARC study in 2021 backed that up, revealing a massive rift between audio’s share of media consumption and its share of ad spend. According to the media and advertising research firm, audio captures 31% of media consumption but just 9% of ad send.
Aiming to narrow that gap, Audacy’s Ad Age op-ed debunks a series of myths about the medium.
Among them:
Myth: Audio has limited measurement capabilities.
Truth: Audio publishers can measure almost anything.
Borelli notes that today’s marketers “demand real-time data, full-funnel conversion metrics and precise attribution.” And he gives an example of how audio rises to meet that need. Combining pixel-tracking with Claritas’ identity graph of 120 million consumer profiles, brands can match audio ad exposure with online and in-store conversions, and compare the influence of audio to other media.
Myth: Listeners ignore ads.
Truth: Audio is the attention grabber.
Borelli makes the case that video and digital advertising are “easy for consumers to avoid—switch the channel, scroll on social media, simply click away. But audio captures listeners’ attention and holds it better than any other channel,” he adds. His op-ed references a recent study by Lumen Research and dentsu which measured various audio formats and environments across three unique studies in podcasts, radio, and music streaming. The headline: audio performed better than video in grabbing people’s attention and generating brand recall. “We know from our attention studies that visual ads are really easy to ignore,” said Lumen Research CEO Mike Follett. “However, that’s almost impossible with audio advertising: you can’t close your ears. The content envelops and surrounds listeners, and so do the ads.”
Not only does audio command more attention, but it does so at a fraction of the investment. The WARC-Audacy study found radio is 40 times more efficient than other mediums to achieve similar attention levels.
Myth: Audio targeting is based on broad audience segments.
Truth: Audio can target specific audiences and behaviors.
“If a brand can imagine their ideal consumer, audio can find them, whether that means directing ads based on gender, interests, purchase history, activities or even zip code,” Borelli writes for Ad Age. This is accomplished by combining millions of over-the-air and digital listener profiles with leading third-party data providers.
A larger audio slice of the media mix would benefit advertisers’ bottom line, particularly as other media lose their audience and influence, Borelli concludes. “Closing the investment gap can help brands tap into major growth opportunities and stand out in today’s crowded media landscape.”
Read the complete op-ed in Ad Age HERE.
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