Audio beats video when it comes to attracting people's attention

In a first-of-its-kind study, media agency network dentsu has cracked the code on measuring listener attention to radio and other audio advertising. Working with Lumen Research, dentsu measured various audio formats and environments across three unique studies in podcasts, radio, and music streaming. The headline: audio performs better than video in grabbing people’s attention and generating brand recall.

The study could help convince marketers to allocate more ad dollars to a still underutilized media channel.

The study, released Tuesday by dentsu, found that audio advertising (including podcasts, radio, and music streaming) drove significant attention compared to other ad platforms. On average, 41% of audio ads generated correct brand recall compared to the 38% norm for other advertising studied by dentsu. Brand choice uplift for audio ads was 10%, nearly double dentsu norms of 6%.

The metric used by dentsu and Lumen to measure listener attention was attentive seconds per thousand impressions or aCPM. The study found that aCPM for audio advertising was 10,126. That’s more than 50% higher than dentsu norms of 6,501 APM.

“Dentsu has been pioneering research in attention via our Attention Economy for the past five years, and we are thrilled to unlock insights on attention in audio—a meaningful first as we innovate dentsu's Attention Economy research across formats,” said Joanne Leong, Global Head of Planning for dentsu. “This data enables us to better serve clients by further proving the value of their investments based on real human-based metrics that can drive better outcomes.”