A/B Testing Your Digital Audio Ad Creative: Tips & Results

In the competitive digital advertising landscape, creating an ad that resonates with your listeners can feel challenging. How do you know if your message is hitting the right note? Whether you’re deciding if your creative works better with humor or if you need a tiebreaker between two types of sound effects, A/B testing answers these questions and more—taking the guesswork out of your audio advertising strategy.

Dive into the basics of A/B testing your digital audio ads, including what it is, why you need it, and which elements can be tested for the best results.

A/B Testing for Audio Advertising, Explained

A/B testing involves experimenting with two different versions of an audio ad to determine which one strikes a chord with your audience. Also called split testing, A/B testing is the most common form of creative testing. You can test everything from your script, to voice talent, to music to optimize your ad creative. 

When refining your ad, implementing a small change in your CTA or replacing the sound effects can be enough to noticeably increase your ad’s effectiveness. A/B testing delivers actionable insights, enabling you to fine-tune your message and boost the potential for high engagement. 

Partnering with Industry Leaders  

At SiriusXM Media, we work with industry leaders in measurement. For all things creative testing, Veritonic delivers quantifiable intelligence across streaming audio, SiriusXM, and podcasts. This partnership gives advertisers full visibility into whether they’re hitting the mark for emotional resonance, brand recall, intent, and more. With the granular insights that A/B testing offers, you can invest in what really works, whether it’s an earworm jingle or a subtle messaging tweak.

Why A/B Testing Digital Audio Ads Is a Good Idea

Imagine this: You’ve come up with a great ad idea for your next campaign. Your entire marketing department agrees with the concept and is eager to see it go live. But before you make it to the finish line and begin broadcasting your ad into the world, it’s worth A/B testing a few versions. Here’s why.

Inform Your Creative Strategy 

A/B testing empowers your brand to experiment and increases the potential for a positive response from your target audience. The insights from these comparisons highlight what truly resonates, and these learnings can guide not only the current campaign but your overall creative strategy. 

Think of this hypothetical example: Imagine an athleisure retailer produces two versions of an ad. One offers multiple male voiceovers and energetic music. Meanwhile, the other version features a single female voiceover and calming sound effects. While the first version might perform better specifically with men, the second version may perform better across all genders and generations. This insight better informs the brand and allows them to diversify their ads with female voices and prioritize sound effects over trendy music. Then, they can use these learnings for future campaigns. 

Maximize Engagement and Conversion

With audio, slight variations in sound, tone, or language can have a huge impact on your audience. A/B testing allows you to determine which creative elements are most effective at driving your desired results and actions.

Improve ROI and Reduce Ad Spend

Running a large-scale audio ad campaign without testing your creative first is a significant financial gamble. By dedicating a portion of your budget and time to A/B testing early, you can mitigate that risk and ensure you’re investing in the creatives that are most likely to succeed. 

For example, you might test two versions of an ad and discover that one of them generates 40% more conversions. By allocating your budget toward the winning ad’s formula, you can increase the ROI of your campaign—while also understanding what’s likely to work again for the next campaign. 

Test These Elements in Digital Audio Ads

A/B testing allows you to test many important elements of your creative to see what works best with your audience. Get started with this list (which isn’t exhaustive). 

Audience Persona 

Different audience personas respond to different messaging. A/B testing can help you tailor scripts or sounds to specific listener segments. For example, you could test a humorous ad among a younger and older generation to see which performs better. Or, you might test sound effects with multi-tasking professionals and pop culture enthusiasts to see which audience you might prioritize. 

Messaging 

Your ad’s message is crucial and can make all the difference in inspiring action or sparking ad recall. Brands can test different value propositions, product benefits, or promotional offers to see what influences your listeners the most. Messaging experiments can reveal some surprising discoveries. For example, you could discover that emotionally compelling messages work better for ad recall than straightforward, promotional scripts. 

Context 

Assess how your creative fits within different types of placements. For example, a podcast ad with an edgier theme could perform wonders in the true crime genre but may fall flat when placed in a self-help show. Similarly, an ad that’s designed for streaming audio may not perform well if it's repurposed for podcasts.

Humor 

Adding a joke to your ad can be a make-or-break effort, depending on if it lands with your listeners. Many elements are at play here. Is your audience in the mood for a joke at the time of hearing your ad? Could the ad work with the Gen Zers in your audience but backfire with another generation? Are you aligning your comedic ad with comedic content? Luckily, you don’t have to risk your brand's reputation to see if the dad joke about your product is as funny as your team might think. Instead, you can A/B test your creative’s humor in advance.

Voices 

The voice actor in your ad can have a big impact on how your message is received. Does your audience respond better to a male or female’s voice or a mix of both? Is an energetic tone better received, or is a slower-paced voiceover the clear winner? Try A/B testing several different options to see which one your audience finds the most trustworthy and engaging. 

Music and Sound Effects 

Sound effects and music can be just as important as an ad’s voice talent. With music and sound, set the tone for your ad and make it more memorable. Try A/B testing upbeat sounds and slower tunes to see which evokes the right emotions. Some ads thrive with punchy jingles, while others can shine with minimal background music.

CTAs 

Your CTA converts intent into real outcomes. Creative testing can help reveal which CTA will get the most clicks, site visits, or downloads. First, decide between upper- and lower-funnel CTAs. Then, consider making tweaks, like changing “learn more” to “get started” to make an impact on your audience’s behavior.

Start Your Audio Advertising Journey with SiriusXM Media

A/B testing your digital audio ad creative is a smart way to make your message click with your listeners while spending your budget more efficiently on ad versions that have been proven to work. Experiment with different formats and note what resonates and what doesn’t—that’s the recipe for a successful audio campaign. From producing impactful creative to measuring your ad’s effectiveness and beyond, we’re your trusted partner in all things digital audio, pre-and post-campaign. 

Ready to put your audio creative to the test? Let’s chat.

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