July 16, 2025

Audio & The Multi-Billion Dollar Opportunity

By Ray Borelli, SVP Research & Insights. Audacy

Study after study, we consistently see data that demonstrates Audio’s ability to drive some of the highest ROI in media. Here are just a few of the attention-grabbing headlines we have seen over the past couple of years:

Just last month, Nielsen declared that according to its Marketing Mix Model (MMM), ‘radio delivers some of the highest ROI globally’.

A 2024 Nielsen analysis of 2,800+ campaigns revealed that radio consistently ranks ‘as a top-tier medium for ROI’.

A 2023 meta-analysis of ROI by Neustar (now TransUnion) found that ‘national advertisers are leaving $6 billion on the table annually’ by under-investing in Audio.

Despite outperforming most channels in ROI, Audio can be overlooked by marketers, not because it’s ineffective, but because it’s quietly efficient.

The latest findings from Nielsen are eye-opening. A 2025 Nielsen CMO survey ranked AM/FM radio last in perceived ROI. But when the actual results were modeled? Radio landed at #2, just behind social.

The gap isn’t performance. 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.

What Audacy and the Industry are Doing to Close the Perception Gap

Marketing Mix Models (MMMs), increasingly relied on by brands to allocate and optimize their marketing spend, have at times undervalued Audio due to structural limitations in how the data has been captured and analyzed.

Low levels of variability and the lack of granular data at the campaign and market levels can cloud the results. 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. We’re actively working to help Marketing Mix Models better reflect the impact of radio and podcasts, so advertisers have the clearest picture possible. Here’s how:

The Industry is Collaborating on Data Granularity and Standardization
We’re working with other Audio companies and with partners like the RAB and IAB to provide more granular data and to standardize model inputs.

‘Test and Learns’ are happening with Advertisers and Modelers
The Audio industry is working with major brands to understand how Audio data is used – and misused – within MMMs. We’re running model audits and retroactive studies to properly demonstrate Audio’s impact. Specifically:

Replacing Media Plan Data with ‘As-Run’ Actuals
As-run data provides significantly more variation, which stimulates the models to more effectively identify radio’s correlation with sales results.
Ensuring Proper Campaign Weight and Geographic Measures
MMMs can fail to identify Audio’s impact if the spend is too low and they often apply national-level assumptions to local campaigns.

We are Working Toward an ‘Always-On’ Solution
Our long-term goal is an “always-on” API connection that can feed precise, time-stamped, as-run granular radio and podcast data directly into modeling systems.

The Bottom Line for Marketers: Audio Delivers Impressive ROI

The challenge isn’t effectiveness. It’s getting properly credited for that effectiveness.

In a landscape where what’s easy to track often gets overvalued, high-performing media like Audio can slip through the cracks. But smart marketers have begun to take notice. With our help, they’re feeding cleaner data into their models, reevaluating 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.