New Study: What Marketers Can Do to Improve Podcast Ads
Media Mix Modeling (MMM) has long been the go-to framework for brands looking to allocate budgets wisely across channels. But in the rush to optimize for what’s easily measurable, one increasingly impactful channel continues to get left behind: audio. From podcast advertising to sonic branding, audio deserves more attention in the models that shape modern media strategies.
The bottom line? Audio is no longer a niche. Digital audio now reaches more than 64% of Americans weekly, podcast ad spending is climbing past $2.5 billion, and smart speakers are embedded in millions of homes. Audio isn’t just everywhere—it’s personal, habitual, and intimate. That kind of environment creates meaningful opportunities for brands to connect, but MMMs often miss or underweight these moments because they don’t fit neatly into traditional attribution frameworks.
Audio Is High-Impact—and Measurable
There’s a longstanding myth that audio is difficult to measure—but that’s no longer true. Brands now have access to real-time attribution, pre- and post-campaign brand lift studies, creative testing, and even benchmark comparisons across industries. Tools like our platform make it possible to bring audio’s full-funnel impact into the modeling conversation—just like TV or digital.
And that impact is real. Podcast ads and branded audio consistently drive higher brand recall and favorability than many visual formats. Audio also thrives in a post-cookie world, using contextual targeting and opted-in engagement to deliver results without relying on invasive tracking. In an era of data privacy and performance uncertainty, audio offers a powerful combination of emotional resonance and measurable ROI.
It’s Time to Rethink What We Value
Sound is uniquely emotional. It creates memories, evokes trust, and builds instant brand recognition—yet traditional MMM often treats audio as background noise. If we want to truly understand which media channels drive business outcomes, we have to expand the scope of what we’re measuring and valuing.
As the media landscape evolves, smart brands are revisiting their MMM frameworks with a more inclusive lens. That means factoring in not just how audio performs, but why it performs. Because when audio is properly measured and modeled, it doesn’t just fill in the gaps—it fills out the story.
Interested in learning more about how audio is measured and how brands today are using it as part of their omnichannel marketing strategies? We’d love to chat –> Contact us!
