Audio Didn’t Change. Measurement Did.
Digital audio distinguishes itself in two important ways. First is scale: In the U.S. alone there are 180 million active listeners across podcasts, ad-supported music streaming, and digital radio. Second is screen-free, habit-driven attention: 40% of U.S. adults listen weekly to podcasts alone, typically during intentional, time-based moments like commuting or exercising.
Listeners say the ads are working. Eighty-five percent of monthly podcast listeners report taking action after hearing an ad, whether that’s visiting a website or researching a product. But marketers won’t, and shouldn’t, choose media channels based on surveys. They need proof of performance.
According to a recent eMarketer survey, 45% of marketers say stronger measurement and attribution would increase their investment in digital audio, while 43% cite the need for clearer ROI transparency. In short, they are asking for Performance Audio.
Measurement is changing for the better
Historically, audio campaigns operated with limited feedback loops. Reach and frequency were visible, but connecting exposure to outcomes relied on proxies like promo codes.
New measurement frameworks are linking audio exposure to business outcomes with greater precision. Advertising campaigns can now be evaluated against site visits, store traffic, and conversions using device-level signals, location data, and third-party validation, bringing audio closer to the standards applied across other performance channels.
Equally as important is that digital audio advertising campaigns are now generating actionable signals during execution so that performance can be monitored and optimized while campaigns are in flight.
Enter Performance Audio
As measurement improves, digital audio is being evaluated as a performance channel. Campaigns are now built around defined outcomes and assessed using cross-channel metrics like brand lift, incremental reach, online traffic, store visits, and conversions. That shift places digital audio alongside broader performance strategies, rather than isolating it as a standalone channel.
Recent campaign data from Audion partners reflects this shift:
→ +35% increase in average brand recall
→ +15% increase in average online traffic
→ +25% increase in average footfall
These results are based on a large dataset of digital audio campaigns run with independent partners. They illustrate how audio can contribute across multiple stages of the funnel, from awareness through to action.
Performance Audio at scale
Delivering meaningful and measurable outcomes with digital audio requires a consistent framework for activation and evaluation.
Audion combines premium podcast and digital audio inventory with a network of independent measurement partners, including YouGov, Happydemics, AdSquare, Veritonic, Okube and Podscribe. Each partner contributes a different layer of insight, from brand lift and recall to location-based attribution and conversion tracking.
Audion’s AI, alongside the measurement data from our partners, allows campaigns to be optimized in real time across inventory, content and audiences.
For advertisers, this creates clear visibility into how campaigns influence awareness, consideration and action, along with reliable benchmarks for comparing performance across campaigns. It also provides the kind of data needed to support more confident budget allocation decisions, moving digital audio out of the test-and-learn category and into ongoing media plans.
For publishers, the impact is more structural. Inventory can be activated within outcome-driven campaigns, allowing revenue to align more closely with measurable performance. Supply becomes part of a broader, scalable system designed to deliver results.
This measurement framework is also critical for optimization. Campaigns can be adjusted based on live performance signals, refining targeting, creative and delivery to improve results over time. What was once a channel measured after the fact is increasingly one that can be actively managed while campaigns are in flight.
Performance Audio’s place in the media plan
With greater visibility into performance and engagement, audio can now be planned, evaluated and scaled alongside other performance channels. It contributes directly to business outcomes while reaching audiences in moments that other media simply can’t access.
For marketers, this expands how audio fits into a performance strategy. For publishers, it supports more stable and scalable demand tied to results.
Audio didn’t change. But its ability to prove and optimize its impact did.
If you want to understand how audio contributes to outcomes - and how to measure it with precision - Audion can help.
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About Audion
Founded in 2018 by Arthur Larrey and Kamel El Hadef, Audion has established itself as the go-to partner for digital audio solutions for brands and their media agencies. With a technology-driven and AI-powered approach, Audion transforms audio into a high-performing, controllable, and measurable media lever across the entire marketing funnel.
Leveraging proprietary technologies integrated with artificial intelligence, Audion designs, activates, and optimizes results-oriented audio campaigns capable of delivering tangible outcomes - from brand awareness to business performance.
With offices in Paris, New York, London, Milan, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Hamburg, Audion brings together a team of 50 experts dedicated to helping advertisers unlock the full strategic and operational potential of digital audio.
Website: www.audion.ai
