Study: Optimizing Audio Increases Return On Ad Spend

Results from Audacy’s new research: “The Audio Amplification: The Return on Ad Spend” confirm that a slight shift of advertiser dollars to optimize audio brings significant returns across various industries. Conducted in partnership with Neustar, a global information services and technology company and leader in identity resolution, the study assessed the impact of optimizing audio elements, both over-the-air (OTA) and digital audio, of more than 40 national advertisers’ media mix performance.

The analysis revealed that a 1.2% shift of media investment to audio would surge brands’ return on audio ad spend by as much as 23%. Across multiple industries, Audio is a high performance player, having a direct and significant impact on results while boosting other media’s performance -- primarily propelling TV, paid search and online video.

“In today’s cluttered landscape, reach alone is not enough to break through, engage and convert,” said Idil Cakim, Senior Vice President, Research and Insights, Audacy. “Brands need meaningful connections with their audiences through all the moments that matter and we know that audio powers up media plans. This study shows optimizing OTA and digital audio in the media mix catapults sales to new heights.”

“Our findings revealed that there are still untapped ad opportunities in audio media, across key verticals that can be leveraged to drive marketing performance,” said Kayla Coutts, Consultant, Neustar Consulting Services. “As consumer needs continue to shift, it's become increasingly critical that marketers ensure they are constantly evaluating their media spend in relation to these consumer trends so as to ensure they are maximizing the value of their media investments.”

Key findings for various industries include:

• Whether talking about cars, commerce or credit cards, the message is clear: Audio adds tremendous momentum to media campaigns. And a slight shift of dollars to optimize audio brings significant returns:

• Over-the-air (OTA) plays a significant role in driving sales, along with digital audio. Across categories, there is a need to dial things up both in OTA and in digital audio. 

• Marketers who include audio in their mix enjoy a win-win solution. Audio lends synergistic impacts to other media channels, such as TV, paid search, online video, and out-of-home, among others. Across categories, every dollar invested in Audio has a 74% to 83% direct impact on incremental sales.

• An overview of performance across auto, retail and telecom industries shows that audio impact peaks within the first week of activation. With the right measurement plans and tools in place, audio enables marketers to show progress against their goals – in the time they need.

• Audio delivers quarter after quarter, with effects lasting up to 21 weeks. Marketers investing in audio can count on continued success.

“The Audio Amplification: The Return on Ad Spend” study is a meta-analysis conducted on behalf of Audacy by Neustar. It incorporates over 40 advertiser models from the past three years, across auto, retail, financial service and telecom sectors. It encompasses up to 14 media touch points, including audio.