Global study backs audio’s role in campaign effectiveness

A new global study has added weight to the case for audio advertising, with research finding campaigns that use audio outperform those that do not across several key commercial measures.

The study draws on the Effie x System1 global Databank of 1,262 campaigns spanning 17 years. It found campaigns with audio delivered stronger outcomes than campaigns without audio across profit, trust, price insensitivity and customer acquisition.

According to the research, campaigns using audio outperformed those without audio on profit by 75%, trust by 81%, price insensitivity by 81% and customer acquisition by 19%.

Across 14 campaign measures, the average uplift for campaigns using audio was 22%.

The research also found audio’s profit contribution scales with media spend, while emotionally driven campaigns using audio nearly doubled profit outcomes.

The study was backed by Commercial Radio & Audio in Australia, Radiocentre in the UK and Ireland, and the Radio Advertising Bureau in the US.

The Australian component of the research built on earlier work commissioned by CRA, which analysed Advertising Council of Australia Effie data with marketing consultants Rob Brittain and Mark Ritson.

That modelling has now been tested against a broader global databank covering campaigns from the UK, US, Europe and Ireland.

Lizzie Young, chief executive officer at CRA, said the findings strengthened the case for audio as part of the wider media mix.

“In a competitive landscape where advertisers need their campaigns to work even harder, the evidence again points to the power of audio,” Young said.

“For brands, the Effie and System1 data is clear: audio drives significantly stronger profit, deeper trust and the price resilience that protects margins.

“That a case first built on Australian Effie data now holds across the UK, US and Ireland only shows how universal audio’s advantage is as a catalyst in the media mix.”

Ritson said the findings showed audio’s role as a campaign multiplier.

“For a relatively modest investment, it’s an unfair advantage hiding in plain sight,” he said.

The data also makes the creative case. Audio nearly doubles the profit generated by emotionally driven campaigns, and its effect compounds when it is paired with distinctive brand assets and run consistently over time.

“Across the globe, the data consistently proves emotional audio campaigns roughly double their profit. Pair that emotion with distinctive sonic brand assets and run it consistently, and the effect compounds again. It’s simple, yet sound advice,” Tindall said.