A new study from Audacy, Audio Amplification: The Return on Ad Spend provides new insights and encouragement for brands looking to dip a toe into the audio waters. They partnered with tech company, Neustar to conduct a meta analysis of more than 40 national advertisers, across auto, retail, financial services and telecom sectors. The study looked at 3 years of media mixes, how audio was placed, and what would happen if audio spend were increased. What they found is that audio not only drives measurable results, it also boosts the performance of other media. 

OPTIMIZE ROAS WITH A SHIFT TO AUDIO

Audacy found that audio delivers positive returns across categories for every dollar invested by brands. Auto brands that shifted 1.8% from other media into audio saw a +23% lift in ROAS. A shift of as little as 0.8% for telecom brands saw a double-digit ROAS lift as well (+11%). 

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OTA AND DIGITAL AUDIO WORK TOGETHER TO BOOST ROAS

Both over-the-air and digital audio play significant roles in increasing brands' ROAS and should be used in tandem. Retail and financial services brands earned double-digit ROAS boosts by adding OTA and digital in roughly equal measures. Optimal lifts were seen by telecom brands that allocated more audio dollars to OTA, while auto brands' mixes favored digital. The power of audio can be tapped across platforms, and brands should not shortsightedly limit themselves to one type. Optimized media plans include both OTA and digital audio. 

AUDIO IMPACTS THE ENTIRE MEDIA MIX

The study shows that audio is a heavy lifter - it not only impacts ROAS directly, it also influences the effectiveness of the other media in the mix. Between 74% to 83% of audio's impact contributes directly to ROAS, while the remaining share of impact is spread among other media, boosting performance of all other media, including TV, digital, OOH, and direct mail. 

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Brands that utilize audio capitalize on its high reach and engagement, and its ability to drive results. Shifting a small amount of spend into audio is enough to get the ball rolling on better-performing media mixes. Imagine what will happen to a brand's ROAS when those audio investments grow.

For more information from Audacy.