New research carried out by research company Differentology on behalf of Radiocentre Ireland, shows that audio advertising can deliver significant benefits to advertising campaigns when added to the overall media mix.
The findings of the research were unveiled at Radiocentre Ireland’s recent Sounding Out 2024 event which took place in the Mansion House in Dublin.
The research sought to understand whether audio can drive brand growth by increasing a brand’s mental availability. The research study leaned on the framework for brand growth that Byron Sharp details in “How Brands Grow”.
A sample size of 2700 respondents was created, and they all were given both audio visual programming to watch and audio programming to listen to, with ads placed in commercial breaks within the content.
Respondents in the first group didn’t see or hear any advertising relating to the test brands – they saw totally unrelated ads. Respondents in the second group only saw the audio visual ad (twice) for the test brands. For the final group of respondents, one audio visual ad was replaced with two audio ads for the test brand.
The test brands had a 12% greater share of mind amongst those exposed to audio visual advertising for the test brands; this rose a further 10% for those exposed to the combination of audio visual and audio advertising for the test brands. The fact that share of mind was so much higher for those exposed to the combination of audio visual and audio advertising, highlights the impact of including audio in the mix.
The research found that audio advertising has a significant effect on helping brands spring to mind more readily in purchasing situations, with mental penetration for a brand higher amongst those who have seen and heard advertising for it. It therefore expands a brand’s network of mental associations and ultimately it increases share of mind for that brand.
