• by Laurie Sullivan , 10 hours ago

Buying platforms often do not include audio as a major part of their ad inventory, but a recent partnership could change that scenario.

Separate data makes the case stronger by showing how audio increases a campaign’s conversion rates.

On Friday, iHeartMedia announced it has expanded its relationship with Amazon Ads to simplify the way advertisers buy and run ads across premium audio, streaming and video platforms.

Rather than using separate tools for each type of media, everything is managed from one hub.

The expanded partnership makes iHeartMedia a local reseller of Amazon Ads’ audio and video inventory including Prime Video, Twitch, Amazon Music, Fire TV and Alexa.

iHeartMedia advertisers will have the ability to use the Amazon DSP and in theory, access to Amazon Ad’s first-party shopper data to target audiences across the company’s podcasts, digital streams, and creator content. This will simplify cross-platform buying and improve audience planning, targeting and measurement with real shopping insights.

It also pairs Amazon Ads’ data and ad technology with iHeartMedia’s creative production, sales consultation and integrated marketing capabilities.

During a presentation at Cannes Lions this week, Mark Ritson, brand consultant and former marketing professor, emphasized that audio is often the "forgotten" medium, and described it as a catalyst that makes the marketing mix work harder.

The research that he discussed, “The Secret to Profit and Trust: Audio,” represented analysis of 1,262 campaigns across 17 years from the Effie x System1 Databank. It measured how campaigns using audio performed against a baseline of campaigns with no audio across the U.K., Ireland, Europe and the United States.

The research found that campaigns using audio as part of their media mix achieved a 23% uplift in overall campaign effectiveness in the U.K. and Ireland compared with campaigns that did not include audio.

Across all markets analyzed, campaigns featuring audio outperformed those without it by 22%, with gains also recorded in Europe with 16%, and the United States with 5%.

Profits became more pronounced as campaign investment increased, according to the research. While smaller campaigns using audio recorded a 27% improvement in profitability, medium-sized campaigns delivered a 74% uplift and larger campaigns achieved an 88% increase compared with equivalent campaigns without audio.

The research also highlighted the importance of sonic branding. One example may be Maybelline's updated jingle from 2024.

For campaigns that combined audio with recognizable sound, that brands the audio asset outperformed those using either approach independently. Campaigns using both audio and brand assets generated the strongest profit performance in the study, more than doubling results achieved by campaigns that used neither.