Despite questions about the impact of tariffs on the US economy, a new survey of advertisers finds confidence is strong enough to convince them to invest more in marketing — including podcast advertising. The survey of 300 executives from media agencies and brand marketers by Advertiser Perceptions finds 43% expect their company or main clients will invest more in podcasting in the next six months. That is a record-high number of podcasts, topping the 34% who said that last year.
The market intelligence researcher also reports that no audio channel has bigger expectations for gains than podcasting. Predictions of higher podcast ad spending tops the 39% that expect audio streaming ad spending to climb, and 23% predict their company or biggest client will put more dollars into AM/FM radio.
“The growing cultural importance of podcasts has the potential to lift advertiser investment in all forms of audio advertising,” says Eric Haggstrom, VP of Business Intelligence and Head of Forecasting at Advertiser Perceptions. “Audio investment has been held back by budgetary constraints and an over-emphasis on lower funnel formats. These pressures should ease in 2025,” he predicts.
The survey, which was conducted Jan. 2-10, finds that larger brands are more inclined to increase audio spending in the coming months. It shows a third of brands that spend $25 million or more on advertising overall expect to boost their audio ad spending, versus 27% of brands that spend between $1 million and $25 million.
Advertiser Perceptions data shows a correlation with how they’re feeling about the economy overall. Among the biggest ad spenders, 58% expect the economy will grow this year versus 40% of the smaller and mid-sized spenders.
Pierre Bouvard, Chief Insights Officer at Cumulus Media and Westwood One, also points out that a seven-year trend of Google searches on the term “recession” peaked in June 2022 and as of January 2025 those searches are down 90%. “It seems like recessionary worries are in the rearview mirror,” he says in a video detailing the findings.
Concerns about inflation are still higher than in the past, but they have come down from a year ago. At the same time, worries over supply chain disruptions and interest rates have also waned.
The result of that optimism is 37% of corporate marketers and ad agencies surveyed say their total ad budgets will be bigger this year versus 2024. That is an improvement over the 29% who said that a year ago. And 53% expect budgets to hold steady year-to-year, with only 8% expecting cuts. Advertisers are also significantly more likely to expect an improving business climate in the new year.
“While increased tariffs on imported goods and regulatory uncertainty remain potential headwinds to the economy, advertisers are feeling bullish about the economy,” said Eric Haggstrom, VP of Business Intelligence and head of forecasting at Advertiser Perceptions.
“Barring those issues, expect advertisers to increase budgets this year.”
Bouvard points out that some of that spending will be to market new launches of products or services in 2025. Three in four said they will launch new products in 2025, up 15 points from a year ago. “This is good news for the economy, and good news for ad budgets,” he says.
Download the latest Advertiser Perceptions survey results HERE.