As media habits shift and audiences become harder to reach through traditional channels, audio advertising has emerged as a powerful way for brands to forge meaningful and lasting connections. Studies show that audio ads drive 24% higher recall than display formats, highlighting their effectiveness in boosting brand awareness and engagement.
Commercial audio, including podcasts and ad-supported music streaming platforms, now reaches over 76% of UK adults each week. Together, these listeners generate more than 627 million hours of weekly audio consumption, offering a rich opportunity to engage diverse audiences in a format that feels personal and immersive.
Unlike visual formats that compete for attention, audio integrates effortlessly into people’s everyday routines, whether they are commuting, working out, or unwinding at home. In fact, 51% of podcast listeners say a brand’s sound identity influences their perception more than its visuals. This emotional connection gives audio a unique edge, enabling brands to speak directly to listeners in moments where they are most receptive.
Today’s audio landscape spans a wide range of formats, from traditional radio to digital audio, smart speakers to mobile devices and podcasts. It can be bought programmatically or directly, targeted with precision based on location, demographics, interests and listening habits. Whether you are driving awareness or action, audio advertising offers a flexible, impactful way to connect with audiences at scale.
Unlike visual formats that compete for attention, audio fits seamlessly into listeners’ daily lives, reaching them during routines like commuting, exercising or relaxing at home. In fact, 51% of podcast listeners say a brand’s sound has more influence on their perception than its visual identity. Audio advertising harnesses this power, offering a highly engaging way to connect with audiences across various audio platforms, from traditional radio to digital audio, smart speakers to mobile devices and podcasts.
With the growth of digital, audio advertising now includes diverse formats like podcasts and streaming radio. It can be bought directly or programmatically, delivered in real time, and precisely targeted based on location, demography and behavior. Leveraging the strength of audio, it creates memorable and impactful messages that resonate deeply with listeners.
● Radio - Classic but still powerful, radio advertising places ads on AM/FM stations to connect with a wide range of audiences via local, regional, or national broadcasts.
● Digital Audio - This encompasses ads on streaming platforms such as Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Music, as well as listeners accessing traditional radio stations through connected devices, for example, Global Media’s Digital Audio Exchange. Digital audio enables advertisers to leverage data-driven targeting, including more precise geographic, demographic, and interest-based targeting.
● Podcast - With podcasts growing in popularity, advertising within them presents a distinct opportunity to connect with niche, highly engaged audiences through host-read endorsements or pre-recorded ads.
How Audio Advertising Makes an Impact
Audio advertising stands out by creative intimate, distraction-free moments with listeners. Unlike many other channels, it’s speaks directly to individuals, often through headphones or personal devices, making the message feel more direct and relevant. This one-to-one experience builds trust and emotional resonance which is not only key to brand recall but also positive sentiment.
Sound is also uniquely powerful in triggering memory and emotion. Whether it’s a catchy jingle, a familiar voice or a powerful story, audio taps into the senses in a way that leaves a lasting impression. Brands can use tone, music and voice to reinforce identity, evoke emotion and guide audiences toward an action, without the visual clutter of other media formats.
Combined with data-driven targeting and real-time delivery, audio campaigns can be tailored to reach the right audience in the right context, whether that is a morning commute or an evening run. This relevance, paired with the personal nature of the medium, is what makes audio advertising so effective at driving meaningful results.
Audio advertising provides numerous advantages for brands aiming to connect with their target audience and deliver effective campaigns. By expanding reach and offering a more immersive experience, audio ads have become an essential element of digital advertising strategies.
Here is a closer look at some key advantages:
● Reaching new audiences - Audio adverts uniquely connect with diverse, hard-to-reach audiences across streaming services, podcasts, digital radio, and smart speakers, enabling brands to extend their reach beyond traditional channels.
● Increased sales & ROI - Thanks to precise targeting and real-time optimisation, audio advertising enables brands to reach the right audience with relevant messages. This focused strategy increases conversion rates and generates a higher ROI than many other advertising methods.
● Creative flexibility - Audio advertising offers creative freedom, allowing brands to use voice, music, and storytelling to engage listeners and boost brand recall and affinity.
● Lower cost - Audio ads are often more cost-effective than visual formats, making them accessible to businesses of all sizes without compromising quality or impact.
● Brand awareness - Seamlessly fit into daily routines like commuting or workouts, digital audio helps brands build consistent awareness and foster personal connections that keep them top of mind.
● Highly engaged listeners - Listeners typically engage with audio content attentively, particularly through podcasts and curated playlists. This deep engagement boosts the chances that audio ads are noticed and remembered, creating impactful touchpoints that strengthen overall marketing results.
One of audio advertising’s greatest strengths is its ability to integrate seamlessly into your existing media strategy. Even attributing a small portion of the budget from other channels to audio can significantly boost the overall campaign awareness, without increasing your total spend.
Placed alongside other media, radio can play a powerful role for advertisers. Audio has been proven to boost sales by as much as 55% when coupled with other mediums such as TV, paid search, and social.
● Radio & Digital - A study found that shifting just 10% of your media budget to radio can boost online browsing by 52%. When combined with digital, radio helps expand reach, increase ad frequency, and effectively target consumers at key moments, driving greater impact without increasing spend.
● Radio & Outdoor - Combining radio with OOH advertising creates a powerful, non-intrusive marketing experience that engages both sight and sound. This cost-effective pairing delivers high reach, appeals to core senses, and communicates messages in a simple, memorable format, perfect for capturing attention on the go.
● Radio & TV - Radio and TV are two of the UK’s most consumed media channels, combining them can significantly enhance brand impact. Adding radio to a TV campaign can boost awareness by 15% and reinforce brand recall.
● Radio & Cinema - Though radio and cinema differ in format, their strengths complement each other; they both offer low ad avoidance and strong audience engagement. While cinema delivers impactful, targeted messages to niche audiences, audio offers broad reach and frequency.
Digital audio consumption continues to grow year on year, with mobile devices and smart speakers driving much of this expansion. In 2025, 45% of UK adults own a smart speaker, more than double the 22% reported in 2020, demonstrating how these technologies have become integral to everyday life. This surge, along with increased internet use, streaming platforms, and wireless headphones, has propelled digital audio advertising’s popularity, offering brands new and impactful ways to engage audiences with personalised, immersive experiences.
Digital audio is highly effective at reaching targeted audiences and building brand awareness. With broad accessibility across devices and listening contexts, digital audio often surpasses other formats in both engagement and recall, reaching audiences up to four times larger than connected TV.
Through digital audio advertising, brands can connect with listeners while they enjoy their favourite content—podcasts, streaming music, and radio. In this positive listening environment, consumers are four times more likely to view audio ads as a worthwhile use of their time compared to social media ads.
Now is the perfect time for brands to harness the power of sound and make their message truly resonate, whether through podcasts, streaming platforms, voice assistants, or radio, audio reaches people in moments when other media can’t. With its ability to create personal connections, boost brand recall, and seamlessly complement other channels, audio deserves a key place in your media plan.
If you want to talk to us about how audio can feature within your advertising plan, please get in touch with our team and we will be happy to help.
Author: Chloe Collyer
