Audacy: With Audio, Perception Doesn’t Always Equal Reality.

In a new Insights post from Audacy Senior Vice President for Research & Insights Ray Borelli, audio’s ability to drive high ROI can be overlooked by advertisers, “not because it’s ineffective, but because it’s quietly efficient.”

Borelli notes a 2025 Nielsen survey in which AM/FM radio was ranked last in perceived ROI. But when the true results were modeled, radio ended second, behind social. “The gap isn’t performance,” he writes. “It’s perception. And in an era of tighter budgets and AI-driven chaos, misjudging media value doesn’t just cost efficiency, it costs growth.”

The industry, Borelli says, is working to close the perception gap, with audio attribution rapidly evolving amid an effort to ensure that Marketing Mix Models (MMM), a tool for brands that want to allocate and optimize marketing investments, reflect the actual performance of radio and podcasts, giving marketers a more complete view.

“Low levels of variability and the lack of granular data at the campaign and market levels can cloud the results,” Borelli writes. “Smaller campaign investments can also fly under the radar, making it harder for models to detect Audio’s true impact.

“But attribution in the Audio universe is innovating quickly,” he continues. “We’re actively working to help Marketing Mix Models better reflect the impact of radio and podcasts, so advertisers have the clearest picture possible.”

Borelli says the industry is improving data granularity and standardization, with key audio companies and industry bodies (RAB, IAB) collaborating to provide more detailed data; partnering with advertisers and modeling experts on “test and learn” initiatives to explore how Audio data is currently used, and often misused, within MMMs; and building toward an “always-on” data solution, with the goal of “an API-based, always-on connection that supplies time-stamped, granular Audio data, radio and podcast alike, directly into modeling platforms.”

Borelli’s message to marketers: Audio drives strong ROI, and it’s starting to get the credit it deserves.

“In a landscape where what’s easy to track often gets overvalued, high-performing media like Audio can slip through the cracks,” he writes. “But smart marketers have begun to take notice. With our help, they’re feeding cleaner data into their models, re-evaluating assumptions, and uncovering ROI in places they’d been taught to overlook.

“If your mix doesn’t account for high-trust, high-efficiency formats like Audio, you’re not optimizing; you’re operating with blind spots. It’s time for performance, not perception, to guide your investment decisions.”