Thanks to digital audio, according to eMarketer, the overall audio advertising market is set to expand. Consequently, marketers are expected to invest $17.6 billion (€16.2bn) in audio advertising this year, with that number projected to reach $18.4 billion by 2028. But, where are the ad dollars coming from to support this growth?
To find out, AMA conducted an analysis of over a billion ad impressions over three months and found that retail has had the biggest share of digital audio spend in Q1 2024, as it did in Q1 2023.
Key findings include:
The analysis showcases the proportion of ad spend and impressions by industry vertical during Q1 2024 in the US:
“In Q1 of this year, we delivered over a billion impressions globally, a considerable YoY increase from the 360 million in Q1 2023,” said Steve Dunlop, founder and CEO of AMA. “This data shows that digital audio ad spend, including podcasts, continues to experience sizable growth. IAB’s recent findings highlight this explosion, noting a nearly 19 per cent YoY increase in US digital audio, helped by the growth of dynamic creative. With QSRs [quick-service restaurants] and retailers recognising the unique ability of digital audio to deliver highly-targeted ads that drive real-world actions, this trend is set to continue.”
The audio advertising landscape has seen strong growth since Q1 2023:
During that quarter, the retail sector dominated with 36 per cent of the total advertising spend, followed by the entertainment and CPG sectors, with 11 per cent each. Most noteworthy, however, is QSR, who represented only 8 per cent of total impressions in Q1 2023. In Q1 2024, it skyrocketed to 44 per cent to match retail.
On a global scale, retail and QSR also dominated ad spend, according to AMA:
The uptick in retail and QSR adoption – both in the US and globally – showcases a recognition that the targeting available allows for localisation to push consumers to specific locations near them. The fact that consumers can get directed to a specific store or restaurant location, for example, showcases the contextual and data-targeting available through programmatic buying of digital audio.
