By Phil Acton, UK Country Manager of Adform
Global audio ad spend is set to hit £32bn ($43bn) in 2025, with advertisers piling into Spotify, podcasts, and music streaming, and with good reason. Consumers are tuning in everywhere: during commutes, at the gym, or while juggling multiple screens at home.
Just take a look at podcasts. They boomed during the Covid lockdown and haven’t let up. According to a recent report, 61% of those in the UK ages 16-24 are monthly podcast consumers, 56% of ages 35-54, and 38% of ages 55+. That’s a huge slice of key demographics, showing that audio isn’t a niche play anymore, it offers mass-market engagement.
But while audio has raced ahead, advertisers haven’t quite kept up. Platforms are rolling out new formats at a pace, including video, interactive options, and richer ad experiences. Yet too many on the buy-side are still dusting off old radio scripts and hoping they’ll land. And it shows: audio performance lags behind other digital formats, and campaigns often feel disconnected from how people actually listen.
This is because people don’t engage with audio in isolation; 85% of listeners look at screens during their sessions. This could be their mobile or their TV set, but it could also be the billboard they’ve walked past on a busy high street.
Ignore this fragmented listening and cross-channel behaviour, and advertisers are leaving a golden opportunity on the table. The real win comes when audio works hand in hand with everything else in the plan, from DOOH to video and display, to reach consumers wherever they are and however they engage.
This isn’t just about throwing money at audio, it’s about connecting the dots across channels in a way that meets people in the moment and complements their listening experience.
Audio comes of age
Audio has quickly grown up. With visuals, interactivity and platform-level innovation now baked into many platforms, it behaves just like a fully fledged digital channel. That means the creative approach has to level up too.
That starts with ditching the ‘one spot fits all’ mindset. A podcast listener is in a completely different headspace to someone streaming music at the gym. Treat them the same and relevance drops. Instead, test formats. Think about how visuals can support the message. Build creative for the context it will land in. When brands do this, performance doesn’t just lift, the whole experience feels more natural to the listener.
Once the creative foundation is sorted, that’s when programmatic can really get to work. And this is where audio starts to feel frictionless.
Measurement-led, omnichannel audio
Direct integrations now let buyers access premium audio, video, and display inventory in one place, meaning audio finally sits neatly within the broader plan rather than bolted awkwardly onto the end of it. Unified measurement helps tidy up the complex bits of planning, frequency management keeps listeners from feeling bombarded, and personalised creative ensures relevance even when dropped in mid-stream.
The latest generation of programmatic platforms also tie audio insights to everything else – DOOH, CTV, mobile, display – so audio is not planned in a vacuum but is using real behaviour to shape genuinely omnichannel campaigns. This is where the channel really comes to life.
Picture someone finishing a session at the gym having streamed a workout playlist. They glance up at a DOOH ad on the way out, and twenty minutes later they’re on the train listening to a podcast, and hear the same brand again. That sequential engagement across meaningful touchpoints and moments creates real impact.
These capabilities are now a reality and available to media planners. However, achieving these benefits depends on collaboration. Brands, agencies, tech partners and publishers need to work transparently, hold each other to account and align on standards that balance performance and respect for the user. Everyone benefits from greater clarity: the advertiser from better measurement, the platform from better revenue and the viewer with ads that they actually appreciate.
Changing the audio game
Audio is everywhere, yet too many advertisers are still treating it as background noise. That’s a missed opportunity. Done well, it’s a way to reach people when they’re paying attention and tell stories that stick.
Those who embrace a programmatic, cross-channel approach, integrating tailored creative, measurement, and omnichannel thinking, will turn audio into a game-changing engine for growth and leave competitors playing to an empty space.
