Awareness to Action: Audio Moves Listeners Down the Funnel

A marketing funnel guides consumers from the first moment of product discovery, to the click to purchase, to the memory of a brand they want to come back to. Wondering where audio fits into this journey? The answer is across the entire path. Thanks to its impactful storytelling capabilities, precise targeting, and scale, digital audio can get you closer to turning casual browsers into your most loyal customers. Whether you’re looking for upper-funnel, lower-funnel, or full-funnel results, dive into how digital audio influences audiences at every stage. 

Why audio plays a critical role in a full-funnel strategy 

Let’s start with the numbers: 79% (approximately 228M) of Americans listen to online audio monthly. With that kind of scale, it’s the perfect engine to fuel your campaign goals. Of course, a successful full-funnel strategy focuses on more than just reach. Impact and connection are key elements to any campaign. While social media and display ads continue to fight for attention in a cluttered feed (hello, screen fatigue), digital audio is more likely to grab it. The medium conveniently reaches consumers when they’re in engaged, screen-free moments, whether they’re physically active at the gym or mentally receptive at home. 

A common misconception is that audio is reserved for upper-funnel strategies. In reality, thanks to innovative adtech, upgraded targeting capabilities, and advancing measurability, audio is a full-funnel channel. Brands can future-proof their strategies by implementing digital audio for any stage. Still unconvinced? In a past study, 77% of digital audio listeners have potentially purchased a specific brand, product, or service after hearing an audio ad.

Top of funnel: Building strong brand awareness through sound 

The top of the funnel is all about brand and product discovery. In this stage, audio is an unrivaled force when it comes to boosting brand awareness, recall, familiarity, and favorability.  The success of audio at this stage can be partly attributed to its massive reach and the trustworthy nature of the medium. 

Unlike social media and the likelihood of passively scrolling in this environment, audio creates a deep 1:1 bond with the listener, leading to high discoverability. Over seven in 10 of digital audio listeners (74%) discovered a new brand or product through an audio ad. Additionally, 89% of digital audio listeners have potentially learned about a new brand, product, or service through an audio ad. This data showcases that audio is a highly effective choice for first-time brand introductions.

How we deliver

Our impressions come with high impact. Our campaigns drive:

• +8% increase in ad awareness

• +5% increase in message association

Middle of funnel: Turning interest into consideration

Once awareness is established, it’s time to deepen the relationship. Audio offers a vast range of format versatility, making it a perfect vehicle for storytelling. By staying in the listener’s ear across different formats and environments, you build persistence without the burnout of ad fatigue. 

At this stage, you can help drive success with emotional connection. For instance, if you’re interested in podcast advertising, leverage host-reads to tap into the bond between listeners and their favorite creators. The impact is undeniable: 68% of our podcast listeners say they are more willing to consider products and services they learn about on podcasts than on social media, live TV, or radio.

But consideration is not only about the initial trial, it also triggers brand advocacy: 51% of digital audio listeners have recommended brands or products to others after hearing an audio ad. When you capitalize on smart storytelling, interest can evolve into consideration. 

How we deliver

Our campaigns are designed to strengthen the relationship between the consumer and your brand, resulting in:

• +3% increase in purchase intent 

• +3% increase in brand favorability 

Bottom of funnel: Driving action with digital audio advertising

Now, it’s time to close the deal. Because audio integrates into daily routines and personal moments, it can act as a personalized nudge right when consumers are ready to buy. Whether they are picking up groceries or browsing the web for new decor, audio is there as a guide to move listeners from “just browsing” to “add to cart.” Our past studies confirm the influence, with 66% of digital audio listeners saying that audio ads are key to influencing their purchase decisions. Additionally, over six in 10 digital audio listeners tried a new brand or product after hearing an audio ad. By leveraging our ad personalization and retargeting solutions, we can ensure your message hits the right ears when consumers are most likely to convert—all while upholding the industry’s highest privacy standards and protecting their listener experience.

How we deliver

Our listeners are ad-receptive and highly engaged, leading to significant results: 

• 53% of our ad-supported audio listeners have taken an action after hearing an ad

Whether they’re searching for more information, using a promo code, or making an online purchase, our listeners are ready to move from hearing to doing. And we have the framework to help you get them there.

Audio is fully measurable across the funnel

If you’re committing to a full-funnel strategy, you need to measure your efforts to see how they’re paying off. Luckily, we work with industry-leading, third-party vendors to measure performance across streaming audio and podcasts with high precision. 

Measure the upper funnel

For awareness goals, we offer creative testing and brand lift studies. Creative testing allows you to identify exactly which versions of your ad resonate best with your audience so you can tweak the messaging or background music (or whatever else) for maximum impact. To see the bigger picture, our brand lift studies track how consumers respond to your campaign and whether it moves the needle on metrics like brand awareness and ad recall. 

Measure the middle funnel

To track consideration, we employ location analytics and attribution studies. Location analytics track visits to physical locations to help you understand how your audio spend is driving real-world foot traffic. Meanwhile, attribution studies track online engagement, such as site visits or app downloads, to determine which campaign touchpoints influenced the final outcome.

Measure the bottom funnel

For the final stage of the funnel, we provide sales lift studies so you can assess sales and purchase intent. These insights give you an overview of how your campaign directly impacted sales, comparing real-time conversions to historical purchase behavior.

Driving full-funnel results and double-digit gains for a travel advertiser

The power of a holistic audio strategy is best illustrated by our success stories. A past campaign for a travel advertiser sought to generate lifts in awareness, familiarity, purchase intent, and more. To meet these objectives, we leveraged the power of podcasts. We developed a bonus episode on 99% Invisible, hosted by Roman Mars, designed to resonate with podcast listeners 18 and up. 

The campaign found an exceptional brand fit between the bonus episode and the advertiser’s travel experience. It pulled off more than just meeting full-funnel goals but exceeding benchmarks:  

• Top of funnel: +29 pt lift in unaided awareness

• Top of funnel: +15 pt lift in familiarity (exceeding benchmarks by +10 pt)

• Top of funnel: +30 pt lift in favorability (exceeding benchmarks by +23 pt)

• Middle of funnel: +29 pt lift in consideration (exceeding benchmarks by +19 pt)

• Bottom of funnel: +27 pt lift in purchase intent (exceeding benchmarks by +13 pt)

• Bottom of funnel: +33 pt lift in message association

Move your audience from awareness to action with SiriusXM Media

The path from first impressions to loyal, repeat customers isn’t always linear, but audio is the golden ticket. Whether you want to build brand awareness, drive sales, or both, we offer the scale, exclusive content, and top measurement tools necessary for your success—at every stage of the funnel. Let’s chat.

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