How Digital Audio Advertising Builds Reach Across Devices and Routines

YouTube, Pandora, Hulu, TikTok, Instagram, SoundCloud. There’s no shortage of entertainment today, making media increasingly fragmented. To connect and resonate with your listeners, reach them across devices and routines using the one connective tissue in most Americans’ days: audio.

Unlike other media, audio isn’t restricted to a single place, device, or routine. Your target listener might be a smart speaker-using homebody who loves listening to pop and R&B hits. Or it might be a Gen Zer who’s always out and about and dominantly listens from their mobile phone. Digital audio delivers reach and much more. Explore the critical role digital audio plays in consumers’ daily routines and how you can build impact across devices (no screen required). 

How digital audio advertising techniques support reach

Consumers are highly tuned in and ad-receptive when listening to audio. Here are the strategies to use when refining your campaigns. 

Leverage listeners’ high engagement and attention

Americans spend almost four hours daily with all audio, and digital audio listeners spend 60% more time with audio than non-digital audio listeners, clocking in almost four and a half hours. 1 The channel is one of the most consistent media habits in consumer routines, and these impressions are hugely impactful. Listeners actively choose their audio content, curate playlists, and lean into the content and hosts they trust. When you associate with their favorite content, this active relationship boosts positive associations and raises the odds that your message will stick the landing. 

Capitalize on incremental reach

Many consumers divide their time between visual and audio-only experiences or don’t have just one favorite media channel—making a cross-channel approach a powerful strategy and a key method for combating media fragmentation. Here’s the possible incremental reach when you combine multiple audio channels: 

• +142% incremental reach by adding streaming audio and podcasts to a SiriusXM campaign 2

• +89% incremental reach by adding SiriusXM and podcasts to a streaming audio campaign 2

• +50% median incremental reach by adding the SiriusXM Podcast Network to your plan 3 

Reach audiences across many devices

Audio meets listeners wherever they hit play, regardless of location or device, whether they’re walking in the woods, underground on the train, entertaining in the living room, or relaxing in a bubble bath. Consumers listen to audio across devices, and this device diversity matters. It gives campaigns flexibility and lets brands follow the same listener from one context to the next. For instance, when you pair CTV with digital audio, you get more than channel diversification. Advertisers that combine the two media can see a lift of +14 points in message association and +12 points in aided recall, which shows how audio reinforces and extends what people see on screen. 4

Cross-device targeting helps you connect those dots. After all, the average US household with internet access has 17 connected devices. 5 When armed with a cross-device strategy that includes audio, you reach an entire ecosystem instead of a single screen. 

The role of digital audio advertising in daily listening routines

Digital audio is woven into everyday life in ways few other channels can match.

Listening to streaming audio weekly

More than 90% of listeners 18 and up listen to streaming audio weekly or more often, solidifying its place as a highly effective medium for campaigns centered on reach. 6 Whether listeners are tuning in to Workout Hits at the gym or Comedy Commute on the road, listeners keep coming back to boost their moods, create an ambience, and everything in between. This listening consistency gives your campaigns room to build frequency without feeling repetitive.

Tuning in from the comforts of home

The home is a major listening hub. Almost nine in 10 Pandora listeners (86%) tune in to streaming audio at home, 6 and 56% of audio listening happens at home, 7 where smart speakers, mobile phones, and connected devices make it easy to press play throughout the day. These relaxed moments, where consumers are bonding with loved ones, hosting, or unwinding solo, are all chances to boost your reach when they’re most ad-receptive.

Dominantly streaming from mobile

Mobile is the anchor device for many listeners. Over eight in 10 Pandora listeners listen to streaming audio on a smartphone, turning their phones into portable speakers that go from the commute, to the gym, to the couch. 6

This mobility keeps your campaign in circulation even when listeners are out and about.

Listening is a group affair

For some, audio listening is a solo event, while for others, it’s a bonding experience, aka co-listening. Over four in 10 podcast listeners 18 and up (44%) say they participate in co-listening, whether that’s with a partner, roommate, family, or friend. 8 And co-listening is highly popular on streaming audio too, with 82% of Pandora listeners saying they co-listen with others. 6 When your ad reaches co-listeners, it means even more ears digesting and resonating with your message—making each impression work harder and more efficiently. 

Inspiring action

Audio doesn’t just deliver reach, it delivers full-funnel action and results. For example, podcast listeners are highly ad-receptive, with 90% of podcast listeners saying they have taken any action after hearing a product or service advertised on a podcast—whether it’s searching online, visiting a site, or making a purchase. 9

Streaming audio listeners aren’t exempt from this either, as 56% of Pandora listeners 18 and up have taken an action after hearing a streaming audio ad. 6

How consistent exposure builds impact without relying on screens

We all know that screens are crowded, and the competition for attention is fierce. Meanwhile, audio thrives on this front—delivering your message in a clutter-free environment. 

Reach listeners during screen-free moments

Streaming audio keeps brands present during screen-free parts of the day. When it’s time to check off their to-do list, 71% of Pandora listeners tune in to streaming audio while cleaning and doing chores. And when it’s time to unwind, 61% of Pandora listeners tune in to streaming audio while relaxing. 6

In the daily moments when visual media might not always be present or appreciated, headphones and smart speakers stay on. When you show up in audio-only environments, you become a part of listeners’ routines without fighting for attention with every other notification, app, and competing ads. 

Minimize screen fatigue with audio

Consumers are feeling the strain of constant screens and visuals, giving audio the upper hand. In fact, 58% of young adults say audio helps them escape visual overstimulation, 10 while 79% of listening takes place when visual media is not available. 11 Digital audio carries the full storytelling load and commands as much attention as other channels—all without having to rely on visuals. 

Get started with SiriusXM Media

Digital audio delivers reach and much more. It fills the gaps that screens leave behind, extends the impact of cross-channel campaigns, and shows up in the everyday routines where attention is currency and decisions are made.

When you partner with us, you access incremental reach, engaged and ad-receptive listeners, and advanced solutions that connect the dots across devices and formats. Let’s talk.

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