4 Ways to Create Audio Ad Creative That Stands Out

In the modern digital space, consumers are bombarded by content across screens, and audio advertising offers a rare opportunity to break through the noise. With approximately 228M Americans listening to online audio monthly, this medium’s reach and influence are impossible to ignore. But to achieve your KPIs and guide your consumers where you want them to go, it all comes down to your creative—from setting goals, to developing sonic branding, to nailing the right audience. Even if you have the right message, it won’t go as far without the right creative. 

Dive into the incredible impact of audio ad creative and top tips for getting them to stand out and resonate with your listeners.

Are You Measuring Your Creative?

Audio ad creative quality is one of the biggest drivers of campaign effectiveness, but too few advertisers give it the attention it deserves. An Advertiser Perceptions/ Westwood One study found that marketers and agencies credited creativity with a 21% sales lift, even though data shows that this number should be closer to 50%.

A similar gap exists with measuring creative impact, only 57.3% of marketers track creative performance, and 33.2% don’t measure it at all. While effective measurement for audio ad creatives may require more time and effort, it is a step that can deliver immense benefits—from actionable insights for optimization to real-world outcomes for your brand. 

This data shows a lack of focus on creative quality and measurement, which is part of a larger trend. Many marketers are missing out on the full potential of audio—which excels at delivering creative impact.

Audio is Easily Underestimated 

As a medium, audio doesn’t get as much attention from advertisers compared to other channels. It was expected to capture only 4.5% of media spend in 2024 compared to 15.1% for traditional TV and 27.8% for digital video. Despite this, Americans spend over four hours daily with audio—warranting more ad budget than is currently given.  

Audio advertising is a powerful tool for influencing your audience, and it’s backed by science. Audio and sounds engage the limbic system, influencing one’s memory and emotion, which plays a big part in why creative ads can build deep connections with listeners. While visual cues can complement the medium, audio can also stand alone—allowing the listener’s brain to construct a sense of atmosphere and fill in the gaps based solely on voices, sound effects, and music.

Thanks to its powerful impact, audio beats visual media hands down in various categories. For example, audio ads have a higher average brand recall: 41% compared to the 38% benchmark seen across visual ads. Plus, audio ads also drove an average brand choice uplift of 10%, noticeably higher than the 6% benchmark for visual formats.

How to Create Creatives for Campaigns That Overperform

It’s high time to let audio take center stage in your media strategy. Here’s how you can use the power of the channel to create campaigns that take your brand to the next level.

1. Aim Higher With Your Goals and KPIs 

Every campaign begins with deciding on your top goals. Set ambitious (but measurable) goals. Are you aiming for upper-funnel lifts? Set metrics for brand familiarity and favorability. Do you have your eye set on lower-funnel lifts? Set metrics for purchase intent and conversion. Yes, audio can deliver all that and more when done right.

From discovery down to conversion, audio influences consumers at every stage of the funnel. It can also help your brand develop a deeper connection and establish trust with your audience, staying in their minds (and ears) long-term. Start your strategy with the intention of creating a campaign that sticks for months or more, not mere seconds. And post-campaign, measure what matters the most for your marketing goals to get a full picture of the campaign’s performance.

2. Tailor Your Ad to Your Audience 

Before any ad can be made, it’s critical to know who you’re making it for. Identify your target audience, and tailor your ads to them as closely as possible. Create an audience persona to position your product or service as the best remedy to your listeners’ pain points. As you narrow down your search, lean on the many targeting capabilities available, ranging from demographics, to mood, to activity, to context. 

Additionally, consider the environment in which a listener encounters your ad. High-attention channels, like podcasts, can tell your story and build a long-term connection, while low-attention channels, like retail environments, help trigger brand and ad recall. 

3. Make Audio the Centerpiece, Not an Afterthought 

If audio is treated as a secondary channel, you may overlook many of its unique features. Advertisers can leverage dynamic or sequential audio, sound effects, and music to create immersive and memorable experiences. And despite the temptation, don’t repurpose your existing campaign assets for digital audio (from video or AM/FM radio assets). Instead, craft messaging from scratch, taking into consideration the best practices for this medium. 

While it’s easy to think repurposing creatives can save budget and time, a traditional radio ad rarely works for TV while a video ad wouldn’t align with an audio-only ad format. By specifically creating an ad for digital audio formats, you can meet (and exceed) listeners’ expectations and work with (not against) the parameters of this medium. 

4. Create a Sonic Strategy 

Sounds are associated with brands just as easily as visuals like logos or fonts. From jingles to signature sound effects, sonic branding helps your ad become instantly recognizable. In fact, an IPSOS study found that the use of sonic brand cues are 8.5x more likely to produce high-performing ads.

But, such powerful results aren’t a coincidence. To boost your brand recognition with audio, develop a consistent sonic identity. Start by prioritizing this step before your ad is too deep in development, and make the sonic component as fundamental as your brand’s voice. 

Embracing an Audio-First POV

To unlock the full power of audio and reap all the benefits it has to offer, you need to shift your mindset and campaign planning. 

Get Leadership on Board 

Educate stakeholders on why digital audio is a necessary part of your creative strategy. Come prepared, and share data on audio’s reach as well as its impact on memory and attention. For example, digital audio ads have a 49% better impact on long-term memory than AM/FM radio ads and a 36% better impression than TV ads. If your team and organization understand why you’re advocating for audio advertising and the benefits it delivers, it becomes a part of the planning process—not a last-minute, add-on item.

Add Audio into Workflows

Once leadership is all-in, make audio a core component of your media mix and a standard element to include in briefs and pitches. Connect this medium with other parts of your advertising strategy to create a truly cross-channel strategy.

Make Your Brand Heard with SiriusXM Media 

Combine audio and superb creatives, and you get extraordinary results for your brand. And with Studio Resonate, our in-house audio creative agency, you’ve got audio creative experts on your side. Digital audio is our specialty—we live and breathe this powerful medium. With unmatched ad-supported scale, industry-leading solutions, and an in-house creative agency, we empower brands to create campaigns that stand out and achieve great results. 

Ready to see how audio advertising can change the game for your brand? Let’s talk.

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