Dentsu Study to Measure Attention in Audio Advertising

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, August 1, 2023 | 11:04am CT

Dentsu

Dentsu has announced new research measuring attention in audio advertising for the first time. Conducted in partnership with Lumen Research, Dentsu measured attention in various audio formats and environments across three unique studies in podcasts, radio and music streaming. The podcast study was conducted with participating partners Audacy, Cumulus Media, iHeartMedia, Spotify and SXM Media. The radio study was conducted with Audacy, Cumulus Media, iHeartMedia. Separately, Amazon Ads conducted a study with Amazon Music for advertising on the music streaming service.

"Dentsu has been pioneering attention research via our Attention Economy for more than five years, codifying, longer than anyone else, the value of engagement in video and display channels. Now, we're thrilled to unlock new insights on attention in audio-a meaningful first for the industry," said Dentsu Media Americas CEO Doug Rozen. "This enables us to uniquely serve clients by proving the value of their audio, video and display ads based on real engagement measures that drive growth."

As Dentsu expands its Attention Economy research, the study measured attention to audio ads across Podcasts, Radio and with music streaming:

The study found that audio advertising (including podcasts, radio and music streaming) drove significant attention compared to other ad platforms:

• Average attentive seconds per (000) APM for audio advertising was 10,126 compared to dentsu norms of 6,501 APM

• On average, 41% of audio ads generated correct brand recall (vs. 38% of dentsu norms)

• Brand choice uplift for audio ads was 10% (vs. 6% for dentsu norms)

The study also found that each audio destination has its own unique strength in driving attention and brand impact.

• Podcasts (measured across Audacy, Cumulus Media, iHeartMedia, Spotify and SXM Media) drove the highest attentive seconds per thousand impressions compared to other digital, social and TV benchmarks. In addition, we saw that brand choice uplift was higher for host reads compared to traditional audio ads within podcasts.

• Radio (measured across Audacy, Cumulus Media and iHeartMedia) also impressively drove higher attentive seconds per thousand impressions compared to other digital, social and TV benchmarks. Radio shined as the most efficient of the audio formats studied, proving to be 10x more efficient when compared to the average online video ads measured through dentsu's Attention Economy.

• Music Streaming (measured on Amazon Music across voice with Alexa and on mobile or desktop) drove key branding metrics. Brand recall was highest for ad-supported streaming music played on Alexa-enabled devices, and drove even higher brand choice uplift for :30 ads compared to those same ads listened to through a desktop/mobile device.

"We understand that radio advertising is a cost-efficient way to build reach, that podcast listeners have great affinity not only to the programming but also podcast hosts, and that smart speakers are a compelling new destination for audio ads on streaming services. It's nice to see each of these unique strengths of different audio formats validated by our audio Attention Economy Study," said Dentsu Media U.S. EVP, Local and Audio Investment Lead Jennifer Hungerbuhler.

Expanding dentsu's Attention Economy research into audio advertising for the first time, the media agency network worked with research partner Lumen to devise a methodology to measure attention in audio that is equivalent with measurement across visual media platforms. To conduct the study, respondents were exposed to listening environments similar to their native audio experiences (e.g., selecting a podcast, radio station or genre of music on a streaming platform). Post-listening, they were administered Dentsu's Attention Economy Survey to gauge ad recall and brand choice uplift compared to a similarly recruited control group. Lumen modeled an attention score which is equivalent to that based on visual attention using the factors collected (including passively collected audio listening data, survey results and type of ad exposure).

Lumen Research CEO Mike Follett added, "Dentsu has been a leading partner of Lumen Research as together we've chartered new territory in understanding attention and building new norms and metrics in the space. We're excited to have a new way to measure attention in audio and eager to continue to define the future of attention with dentsu and their clients."

Joel Oxley to Retire From Hubbard DC as MP/GM Joel Oxley Joel Oxley, Market President and General Manager of Hubbard Broadcasting's Washington, DC operations, has announced plans to retire later this year after nearly 35 years with the company and almost 28 years as General Manager. Oxley has overseen Hubbard's Washington operations, including WTOP News, More

Urban One Reports Q1 Revenue Decline, Lower Net Loss Urban One Urban One reported first-quarter 2026 net revenue of $77.7 million, down from $92.2 million a year earlier. The company posted a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $3.1 million, compared to a loss of $11.7 million in the first quarter of 2025. Operating loss for the More

Red Apple Launches 24-Hour News Network Worldwide News Networks Red Apple Audio Networks will launch a new 24-hour national radio news service, Worldwide News Network, on May 23. The network will begin operations at midnight on Saturday, May 23, providing affiliates with top- and bottom-of-the-hour newscasts around the clock, seven days a week. As part of the launch, More

AM/FM Dominates Hyundai Drivers' Audio Habits Cumulus Media | Westwood One A new blog post from Cumulus Media | Westwood One's Audio Active Group says AM/FM radio continues to dominate audio listening among Hyundai drivers, both in the car and across all listening environments. Citing newly released Q1 2026 data from Edison Research's "Share of Ear" study, the report notes that More

Flightpath Launches Revenue Optimization Tool Flightpath Flightpath has announced the upcoming launch of Revenue Optimizer, a managed traffic service designed to help podcast and digital audio publishers improve campaign delivery, maximize revenue, and streamline ad operations across inventory platforms. The company plans to officially unveil the platform More

FCC Cites WRLR-LP for Unauthorized Operations Federal Communications Commission The FCC has issued a Notice of Violation to Rondaradio, Inc., licensee of low-power FM station WRLR-LP in Round Lake Beach, IL, a far-suburban Illinois community north of Chicago. The NOV cites the station for operating with unauthorized technical facilities and for an improperly located studio transmitter More