Bauer study links audio campaigns with stronger results

Campaigns combining audio, outdoor advertising and publishing reported 33% more brand effects than those without these channels, new research finds.

The study from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising and Bauer Media examined 569 campaigns from the IPA Effectiveness Databank covering 2010 to 2024, comparing the outcomes of campaigns using all three channels alongside other media with those using none of them.

Called Winning The Great Brand Race, the analysis also found that campaigns combining audio, out of home advertising and publishing reported 8% more business effects, including sales, profit, market share and new customers.

Trust was another area of difference. Campaigns using all three channels were 69% more likely to report very large improvements in brand trust, alongside a 30% gain in brand commitment.

The researchers also examined how campaigns prompted action. Some 45% of campaigns combining the three channels reported large or very large activation effects, compared with 15% of campaigns using none of them.

Creative approach appeared to matter too. Among campaigns using audio, outdoor and publishing, those using emotional rather than rational advertising reported 23% more business effects. The equivalent difference for television campaigns was 8%.

In fast growing product categories, campaigns using the three channels reported 185% more very large brand effects and 44% more business effects than those without them.

Simon Kilby, UK Managing Director of Bauer Media Advertising, said: “The finding that campaigns combining all three channels are 69% more likely to deliver very large gains in brand trust is particularly compelling.”

Richard Bon, UK Managing Director and Europe Commercial Lead at Bauer Media Outdoor, said: “Audio, outdoor and publishing each bring distinct strengths, and these findings offer a valuable perspective on their combined role in brand building and activation.”

The report describes associations between media choices and outcomes rather than proving that combining the channels caused the improvements.

The full study is available here.