Landmark global study proves audio’s impact in the marketing mix – driving profit, trust and brand outcomes

• Mark Ritson on global stage at Cannes Lions: reinforces audio’s role as the campaign catalyst.
• First time the audio industries of the UK, Ireland, Australia and the US have come together to demonstrate the power of audio.

For the first time, the global audio industry bodies of the UK, Ireland, Australia and the United States have added their voices to a single global argument – and taken evidence of the power of audio to Cannes Lions.

Radiocentre (UK), Radiocentre Ireland, Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) and the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB US) joined forces to bring Professor Mark Ritson to Cannes to present new global evidence for audio’s role in the modern media mix to an international audience of advertisers and agencies.

In a session titled, ‘The Secret to Profit and Trust: Audio’, Ritson unveiled a landmark global study drawing on the Effie x System1 global Databank of 1,262 campaigns spanning 17 years to prove how commercial audio lifts campaign performance. It was presented to a packed audience of marketers, agency leaders and audio networks at the festival.

Audio works across key commercial levers

Campaigns with audio outperform those with no audio on profit +75%, trust +81%, price insensitivity +81% and customer acquisition +19%. Audio’s profit contribution also scales with media spend. Across 14 measures, the average uplift for all campaigns with audio was +22%, in comparison to campaigns with no audio.

Audio doubles profit for emotionally driven advertising

The data also makes the creative case. Audio roughly doubles the profit generated by emotionally driven campaigns, and its effect compounds when it is paired with distinctive brand assets and run consistently over time.

Global collaboration to amplify audio’s effectiveness

The original study was commissioned in Australia, where CRA analysed the Advertising Council of Australia’s (ACA) Effie data with independent marketing consultant Rob Brittain and Mark Ritson, who called it “beautiful data”. That modelling has now been taken to the world stage, tested against a new global databank from the UK, Ireland, Europe and the US.

Professor Mark Ritson, global marketing consultant and founder of MiniMBA, said:

“This is yet more beautiful data. The case for audio’s effectiveness is unequivocal; in every market we’ve studied globally: audio is the catalyst that makes your whole campaign work harder. For a relatively modest investment, it’s an unfair advantage hiding in plain sight. It’s the kind of evidence you cannot unhear.”

Matt Payton, Chief Executive Officer at Radiocentre, said:

“This Effie and System1 analysis clearly demonstrates the universal power of including audio in the media mix, with the data telling a strong story regardless of the market. In the UK specifically, these findings are stunning and add to the existing body of evidence we have that shows how audio amplifies advertising impact, drives business results and builds brand trust.”

The presentation was followed by a discussion, featuring System1 Chief Growth Officer, Andrew Tindall.

On the findings, Andrew Tindall said:

“Across the globe, the data consistently proves emotional audio campaigns roughly double their profit. Pair that emotion with distinctive sonic brand assets and run it consistently, and the effect compounds again. It’s simple, yet sound advice.”