Mark Ritson - Audio: The Campaign Catalyst
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Mark Ritson - Audio: The Campaign Catalyst
New research, presented at HEARD 2026 by Professor Mark Ritson reveals updated findings on audio's impact on campaign effectiveness.
The research, drawn from the Advertising Council of Australia's (ACA) Effectiveness Database, was analysed by independent marketing consultant Rob Brittain and presented by Professor Mark Ritson. The analysis examined all Effie Award entries from 2018 to 2025, adding two years of data to previous findings.
The conclusion: campaigns with excess share of voice that invest in audio are significantly more effective than those without. Among these high performers, audio represents an average of 11% of total media spend.
The new research shows audio campaigns deliver nearly twice the impact for new customer acquisition (37% with audio vs 22% without), brand distinctiveness (40% vs 22%) and price insensitivity (23% vs 12%). Audio also connects with both head and heart, deepening emotional appeal(51% vs 41%).
Professor Mark Ritson said: “Audio is the catalyst in the media mix. Eight years of beautiful data confirms it: allocate 11% to audio and you trigger a disproportionate effect across every key brand and business measure. This isn't theory. You're not spending more - you're making everything you already spend work significantly harder."
CRA CEO Lizzie Young said: "This data demonstrates audio’s ability to impact so many different brand and business objectives, proving audio’s contribution to driving profitable growth for brands. I couldn’t agree with Professor Mark Ritson more - it is beautiful data.”
ABOUT THE DATA: The analysis draws from the Advertising Council of Australia's Effectiveness Database, comprising all Effie Award entries (n=595) from 2018 to 2025. These represent the pinnacle of advertising effectiveness in Australia, making it the gold-standard dataset for understanding which channel combinations drive business outcomes.