Audacy’s just-released “State of Audio: The Trends Report” shines a spotlight on audio advertising’s game-changers from every angle, with a focus on creative, audience measurement, and where things stand with artificial intelligence.
“These are the trends marketers are embracing to make their audio work harder,” Audacy Chief Marketing Officer Paul Suchman says, “[the] audio trends that leading brands are leaning into to accelerate the performance of their media investments.”
According to Audacy’s research, emotional messaging has become more important in audio advertising, responsible for an 8.2% increase in consumer action with ads that evoke positive feelings. “Savvy marketers are courageously stepping outside of their comfort zone to bring back right-brain approaches based on empathy, relationships, and human connection,” the report says. “Ads with emotional stories, vibrant characters and dialogue build longer-lasting memory structures that connect us to brands and drive more sales.”
Related to this is the importance of authenticity in advertising, as Audacy cites a Deloitte Digital survey of Gen Zs and Millennials showing 90% say authenticity is an important factor in deciding which brands they like.
Suchman adds, “Bespoke audio creative, built explicitly for the medium, is incredibly important. In the absence of visual imagery, a great script, sound design, voiceover and sonic branding serve as the essential ingredients for a killer audio ad. Done well, it can be exponentially more effective than a video or digital ad.”
At the same time, the nature of creator relationships has moved more away from “test and see” campaigns and more toward longer-term partnerships. Audacy’s report cites research from Advertiser Perceptions showing that nearly one-third (31%) of advertisers are increasing their investment with creators, while 40% are shifting from one-off campaigns to year-long collaborations.
“Creator partnerships have officially moved from ‘nice-to-have’ to a ‘must-have’ in media plans, driven by authentic engagement and stellar performance,” the report says. “We’re seeing the beginnings of a shift to deeper partnerships, longer campaigns, and non-traditional collaborations.”
Advertisers’ use of audio measurement is also in flux, as agencies are taking a closer look at a unified solution encompassing all formats and measurements, such as attributing purchase conversions, form fills, and incremental lift across channels.
“Combined listening across audio platforms has surged 66% in the past two years, but while audiences embrace ‘total audio,’ many brands and agencies still silo OTA, digital streaming, and podcast ads into different buckets, which complicates audio planning, buying, and measurement,” Audacy’s report says. “We’re building out our multi-platform solution, our measurement partners are developing integration capabilities, and major media buyers are investing in audio attribution paths as well, all with the same goal — to deliver the true impact audio investment has on an advertiser’s bottom line, and give radio and digital audio a bigger seat at the media planning table.”
Meanwhile, AI continues to make inroads in audio advertising, as Audacy notes an eMarketer survey showing nearly nine in 10 marketers (88%) expect AI to have a serious impact on their business by mid-2025.
“Radio and podcast publishers are adopting dynamic AI contextual ads, creative testing and additional features to enhance experiences,” the report says. “Despite the rise of generative AI, human connection remains the heart and soul of audio. By blending AI with a human touch, brands can maintain authenticity and preserve the magic of genuine connection.”
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