Don’t Just Cut Through the Noise. Be the Noise. Why Smart Marketers Are Shifting More Budget to Audio Advertising

Google and Meta, the two digital advertising giants, now account for more than £26 billion of the UK’s £43 billion total advertising spend, according to recent analysis (SOURCE: Advertising Association). That means well over 60% of all UK advertising budgets go to just two platforms: one for search, and one for social.

It’s no surprise. Digital platforms offer scale, data, and the ability to target with precision. They’re essential for most marketing strategies. But with this dominance comes saturation, feeds filled with ads, limited attention spans, and an overwhelming battle for visibility.

So what happens when everyone is shouting?

You need a medium that isn’t just part of the noise, but becomes the sound people hear.

Audio Advertising: Where Your Brand Gets Heard

While the giants of search and social continue to grow, audio advertising remains one of the most underused, high-performing formats in the UK.

Digital audio boasts an average Listen Through Rate (LTR) of 98%. That means 98% of impressions are heard in full, according to Bauer Media internal data, because ads are only delivered when active listeners are present.

Unlike video or social media ads, where consumers can skip, scroll, or mute, audio commands attention in a lean-back environment. Listeners are engaged, often doing other tasks; driving, exercising, working, or relaxing… and your message becomes part of their daily rhythm.

No skip button.

No scroll.

Just your message — heard, uninterrupted.

A Less Crowded Space = Bigger Impact

According to the Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report, all audio advertising in the UK (radio + digital) accounts for less than 2% of total ad spend, totalling around £800 million to £900 million.

Compare that to digital:

Google’s UK advertising revenue alone hit £20 billion
Meta added another £6 billion
Social media advertising grew by 22.7% year-on-year, while search advertising rose by 12.8%

This imbalance creates an opportunity: audio isn’t cluttered. In fact, it’s one of the few remaining media environments where your brand can dominate the conversation.

Less competition means:

Higher share of voice per ad break
Greater recall and association with your brand
A more trusted environment, especially with familiar presenters or curated playlists

But Is Audio Advertising Trusted?

Yes! And it consistently ranks higher than other forms of advertising in terms of trust. A Radiocentre study found that radio is considered the most trusted medium after personal recommendations, with 80% of listeners describing it as a companion they rely on.

In contrast, social media platforms face ongoing scrutiny around misinformation, data privacy, and ad intrusion. In fact, most users on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok have become so used to ads that they instinctively scroll past them unless something instantly grabs their attention.

A study by Lumen Research found that only 10–20% of social media ads receive more than one second of active attention. Meanwhile, skippable video ads on YouTube are skipped 65–85% of the time, and general display ad click-through rates remain below 0.5% .

By contrast, audio advertising, especially when targeted or presenter-voiced, is heard, trusted, and remembered.

Audio + Digital = A Smarter Mix

We’re not here to tell you to ditch social or search. On the contrary, audio works best when it complements your digital strategy.

Here’s how it enhances performance:

Increases brand recall: Audio reinforces brand messaging seen on visual platforms
Creates emotional connection: Voice and music add a human, memorable element
Drives real-world action: Audio ads are often heard closer to the point of action (e.g., in the car, on the high street)

Adding just a modest audio investment to your digital campaigns helps unlock more effective, multi-channel engagement.