Audio ROI Perception Lags Measurement Reality

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, February 17, 2026 | 2:00pm CT

Cumulus Media | Westwood One

The latest blog from Cumulus Media | Westwood One's Audio Active Group spotlights a widening gap between advertiser perception and marketplace data when it comes to audio advertising return on investment.

Citing a new eMarketer report conducted with Amazon Ads, the blog notes that 55% of brands and agencies say "difficulty measuring ROI" is the top barrier to increasing digital audio spending. Another 36% believe digital audio is less effective than other channels.

Yet the blog argues that audio has entered what it calls a "golden age" of measurement, supported by a broad range of studies quantifying sales impact, brand lift, search and site attribution, creative effectiveness, and long-term profit return.

The eMarketer study found marketers primarily use audio for upper- and mid-funnel objectives such as awareness, consideration, and brand favorability. However, many expect lower-funnel proof points such as direct sales conversions.

The blog likens this mismatch to "testing a Spanish class with a calculus exam," citing marketing effectiveness research from WARC, James Hurman, Les Binet and Peter Field that underscores the need to evaluate brand-building campaigns differently from performance tactics.

Research from TikTok and brand tracking firm Tracksuit is also referenced, showing that stronger brand awareness improves lower-funnel conversion performance - reinforcing the idea that brand building and performance marketing serve complementary roles.

The post highlights brand lift measurement firms such as Upwave, which has conducted hundreds of studies and developed benchmarks by industry and brand size. Upwave CEO Chris Kelly says many advertisers underestimate audio's brand-building strength despite extensive campaign data demonstrating impact.

The blog also compiles recent studies measuring direct sales outcomes from audio campaigns:

• ABCS Insights, commissioned by iHeart, found digital audio generated nearly $2 million in incremental sales for a retailer, while AM/FM radio produced $5.8 million. The study reported AM/FM radio delivered 20% greater sales per person reached than digital audio.

• Affinity Solutions, working with Cumulus | Westwood One, reported that a digital audio campaign for a major retailer increased new customers by 5%, transactions by 3.5%, shopper spend by 4%, and total sales by 4%.

• Podscribe's Q4 2025 Benchmark Report, covering 79,000 campaigns and 20 billion impressions, provides industry- and genre-level benchmarks for site visits, conversion rates, and cost per acquisition in podcast advertising.

The blog also points to improvements in Media Mix Modeling (MMM), noting that actual as-run AM/FM radio ad occurrences from Media Monitors can now be matched with Nielsen audience data. Former P&G analytics chief John Fix says this advancement significantly improves the precision of radio's ROI measurement.

Several large-scale ROI studies further underscore the perception gap:

• WPP Media found digital audio tied for first in short-term ROI, with AM/FM radio second. Over a two-year horizon, both ranked above the all-media average for profit return.

• Circana's Media Mix Modeling benchmarks place AM/FM radio #2 globally in ROI and #4 domestically in the U.S., generating $2.14 in profit for every dollar spent. However, Circana's CMO survey ranks AM/FM radio last in perceived effectiveness.

• Marketing effectiveness researcher Peter Field's review of IPA databank case studies found brands using AM/FM radio achieved 13% greater mental availability, 28% larger market share, 42% more cases reporting large profit growth, and 23% higher return on marketing investment.

Attention measurement firms are also reshaping assumptions about audio effectiveness. Adelaide reports AM/FM radio delivers 85% of the attentiveness of linear TV at roughly one-quarter the CPM, while podcasts reach 94%. A separate study from Lumen, commissioned by Dentsu, concluded audio ads outperform video for attention and brand recall on an efficiency basis.

The blog concludes that while advertiser skepticism persists, the body of measurement evidence suggests audio advertising is both quantifiable and competitive in delivering business outcomes across the funnel.

Read the entire blog post here.