Study: Listeners Go Out of Their Way For Audio

Audio company Audacy released findings that show listeners intentionally setting aside time during their day to listen to their favorite audio content, adding another incentive for marketers to invest more ad dollars in the medium, reports AdWeek.

Based on over 1,000 respondents, 74% say they set aside time to listen to audio. Weekly podcast listeners make up 87% of the intentional listeners, while 86% of respondents Audacy classes as Gen Z. Audacy also found audio rivals social media scrolling and online streaming as a medium for rituals. This study is part of the company’s second part of the 2022 State of Audio series.

The study also identified ritual personas that are focused on self-help and self-care. More specifically, 75% surveyed are growth seekers, 61% are parents, and 56% are people interested in fitness.

“One of the audio superpowers is its ubiquity, and it’s the ultimate companion,” said Audacy chief marketing officer Paul Suchman. “Audio can be with you, wherever you go, whenever you want it.”

This study suggests advertisers target the specific ritual through a podcast’s genre and match the message to the context. Despite audio’s growth, marketers are still not giving it a fair share of their media budgets, Suchman told Adweek. “Audio is sitting there as one of the big four mediums now it’s not sitting there as a ‘nice to have.’ It’s sitting there as a ‘must have.'”

Podcasting is expected to account for over a quarter of digital audio services ad spending by the end of 2022 and is projected to be more than a third of spending by the end of 2026, touching $3 billion in ad spend, per Insider Intelligence.

Yet, the oncoming recession is cause for concern. Suchman told Adweek some marketers are “cautiously optimistic” while others are pessimistic about the beginning of next year after recently reported Q3 earnings from companies like Meta and Spotify show ad revenue growth slowing.

According to Audacy’s 2022 Q2 earnings report, the macroeconomic conditions reduced its top-line revenue growth by 5%.

Suchman told Adweek that audio has become part of the larger conversation due to its cost efficiency and ability to deliver a high return on ad spend while buckling up for the tough headwinds.

“It becomes a really smart play for these brands during tougher times,” Suchman added.