Fresh research, released by WARC Advisory in partnership with audio content creation and distribution company Audacy, seeks to destroy “the barriers behind the audio investment gap” by tackling several “misperceptions” driving what the company that recently emerged from bankruptcy protections says are “driving the under-utilization of audio by marketers.”
With Townsquare Media CEO Bill Wilson telling institutional investors at a BofA Securities event in Boca Raton on Tuesday that National ad dollars are in an irreversible downward trend, and that core ad dollars for broadcast radio are to follow suit in the coming years, the company led by David Field and majority owned by an investment fund tied to Democratic activist George Soros seeks to use the “White Paper” to help reverse that trend.
It used “in-depth interviews” with “twenty-one experts” across leading brands, agencies, measurement companies and publishers in the audio field in an attempt “to better understand the issues” plaguing radio industry core advertising growth “from a 360-degree perspective.”
The “White Paper” is perhaps better described as a 42-page marketing tool for Audacy to promote its capabilities, as it is the closest competitor from a structural standpoint to iHeartMedia — the industry leader that is presently in a PR frenzy following comments made by CEO Bob Pittman during the company’s third quarter earnings call that suggest reducing the number of local air personalities and associated talent is beneficial for listeners.
The PowerPoint-styled White Paper is broken into four chapters.
What are the key takeaways?
Much like the investment predicament seen with U.S. Hispanic media advertising, WARC and Audacy make the conclusion that just 8.4% of ad spend is put against 24.5% of ad-supported media consumption in the U.S. during 2024. The efforts of Marc Pritchard and the now-retired John Fix at Procter & Gamble Co. were singled out; P&G has embraced audio advertising in recent years thanks to Pritchard, the influential Chief Brand Officer, and Fix.
Chapter 2 focuses on a topic Field has drilled with investors in quarterly calls held by Audacy prior to its restructuring — radio’s reach, making it stronger than a secondary channel for achieving campaign KPIs. Chapter 3 delves into the trust factor for Radio, while the last chapter discuss audience measurement and consumer modeling.
Paul Stringer, Managing Editor of Research & Advisory, WARC, commented on the findings.
“Now, thanks to an explosion in audio listenership, there is a growing volume of evidence to suggest that audio drives a big impact in terms of attention, brand lift and key business KPIs,” he said. “Yet a gap remains between investment and consumption. This paper goes one step further to understand precisely why audio is lagging behind other channels in terms of investment.”
Audacy SVP of Research & Insights Ray Borelli added, “There are more options available to marketers in audio than ever before, and we see time and again the positive results that come when brands increase their audio spend. However, investment in audio is being constrained for some by a series of perceptual barriers. This white paper aims to dispel those misperceptions and highlight the opportunities that are in front of marketers who embrace audio advertising.”
To download the WARC/Audacy report in full, please click here.
