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It’s been a couple years since Genius Monkey dove into the Flexibility of Modern Audio Ads, and it’s time to check in with programmatic’s most underrated medium. In the last two years, the audio industry has experienced explosive growth and consumers are eating up audio in all new ways. The audio advertising landscape is evolving, and it’s time for advertisers to keep up or get left behind. Let’s look at the current state of audio ads and see how advertisers can best embrace the channel.
Programmatic Audio Growth Over the Last Two Years
Edison Research recently reported that approximately 80% of the U.S. population listens to online audio every month; impressive as that may be, it’s even more impressive that 64% of Americans over the age of 13 stream ad-supported audio. Statista reported that podcast listeners in the U.S. increased by around 6% across 2023, and it’s anticipated to increase a further 9% by 2026.
Audio streaming is gaining ground, and advertisers have taken notice; programmatic audio ad spend has increased to $2.26 billion, an 18% increase year-over-year. In 2025 the entire audio ad market is expected to grow by about 6.38%, suggesting that programmatic audio is taking over as the principle method by which advertisers are reaching their audiences.
Podcasting in particular has grown quite a bit in advertising potential. In 2021, ads made up about 7.9% of the podcast run-time; in August 2024, that ratio increased to 10.9%. eMarketer anticipates that ad spend for podcasts alone will increase to $3.26 billion by 2029.
With metrics like these, it’s no wonder that other industry giants like Netflix have reportedly been gearing up to enter the audio world.
Audio Leads the Industry in Engagement
Consumers often listen to audio in focused scenarios like driving, which leads to high engagement and better brand recall. Audio streaming ads boast a 90% completion rate, and one study suggested that digital audio ads have a 36% better long-term recall impact than TV ads. Another study suggested consumers remember digital audio messages up to 5% better than other channels.
Sonnant reports that 80% of podcast listeners remain engaged throughout audio ads, and over 75% of listeners have taken action based on the content or message of a podcast. Another study reported that 60% of its participants made a purchase that was triggered by an audio ad on a podcast. The same study suggested that listeners were “1.5x more concentrated on content consumption via podcast channels than through social media.”
The Industry Believes Audio is Worth Investing Into
Perhaps the greatest recent evolution of audio advertising is its scale; more advertisers are understanding audio’s potential, therefore publishers are opening inventory and platforms innovating strategies like never before. The major players in audio streaming – SiriusXM Media, Spotify, and iHeart – are all expanding options for ad placements.
For example, SiriusXM Media (the parent of Pandora and the largest audio entity) has expanded their AdsWizz subsidiary to function as the ad server for their entire portfolio. Advertisers have access to all this huge inventory through private marketplaces and programmatic guaranteed deals. Spotify (the largest music streamer) has been adding new ad formats, allowing display and video to appear as well as experimenting with voice-activated and full-on AI generated ads.
It’s hard to tell if ads are working without tracking, and the audio industry is finally taking Genius Monkey’s preferred approach with attribution and tracking conversion metrics. A study from SirisXM Media demonstrated not only audio’s power in consumer engagement, but the potential for that power to multiply when paired with other media.
When audio was added as part of a CTV campaign, SiriusXM noted an increase in both aided and unaided brand recall compared to CTV alone. The increased lift was even higher toward the middle of the funnel when the audio ads were delivered through podcasts.
Genius Monkey has seen similar results with adding in audio to an already established display and video media strategy with increases in conversion rates up to 44%.
Multichannel is No Longer a Luxury
The ad industry continues to advance, developing new techniques and technologies for placement and attribution. The average consumer is exposed to so many advertisements that relying on a single ad type or strategy isn’t enough to keep your brand top of mind. For that, you need multiple messages spread across different channels, all delivered to the customer at just the right time.
Audio advertising has benefited from cross-device tracking and is ready to play a vital role in your multichannel campaigns. The flexibility of the medium means it can play a crucial role at each stage of the funnel, and Genius Monkey’s industry-leading attribution lets you see exactly when and where they have the most impact.
Programmatic audio has come quite a way in only a couple of years, and we can only imagine where it might go in another two. If you’re ready to make the most out of what programmatic audio has to offer, there’s no better time to jump in with the omnichannel approach of the Genius Monkey platform.
Ready to increase conversions with an expert team who will help your campaigns in real-time? Get in touch with Genius Monkey today!
