SiriusXM used day two of Advertising Week New York to stage its first-ever audio advertising showcase to pitch more than 200 advertisers and industry executives as the company positions itself between its automobile presence and podcasts.
“Built With Audio” positioned audio as a category with room to grow, noting that while digital audio accounts for 21% of consumer media time, it represents just 4% of ad spend. SiriusXM leaders, including CEO Jennifer Witz, pressed the point that the gap signals “massive opportunity” for marketers to reach the company’s reported 170 million monthly listeners.
Chief Advertising Revenue Officer Scott Walker, making his first stage appearance in the role, described SiriusXM Media’s strategy to connect advertisers with listeners across owned-and-operated platforms as well as third-party outlets.
“We believe the ads running across SiriusXM should be as entertaining and engaging as the audio fans come to listen to, that media buying and planning should be as simple as turning on SiriusXM in your car, and that when you work in true partnership the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts,” Walker said. “It doesn’t matter where listeners are engaging with their favorite podcasts, whether it’s on SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify, Apple, YouTube, chances are they’re hearing ads powered by SiriusXM. This is a huge reason why the biggest creators in the world want to work with us: we give them the freedom and flexibility to control their own destiny and build their business.”
As the satellite broadcaster vies for in-car attention with AM/FM radio, Chief Operating Officer Wayne D. Thorsen emphasized the company’s dashboard presence, saying, “The car is the final frontier for digital ad-supported media at SiriusXM. We are boldly claiming it and we invite you to chart the course forward with us.”
In December 2024, the company shifted marketing resources away from what it called high-cost, high-churn streaming audiences to focus on its core revenue-generating segments, ending its “Closer” national brand campaign that had targeted Millennials and Gen Z.
In order to compete with traditional radio, SiriusXM has launched a lower-priced, ad-supported subscription and a free product for select 360L hybrid radio users within the past year.
Head of B2B Marketing and Advertising Innovation Lizzie Collins highlighted the company’s podcasting slate in conversation with Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper. Outside of the car, SiriusXM has been focused on high-dollar contracts with top-tier talent like Cooper, recently bringing in Stephen A. Smith, Morbid, and SmartLess to join existing partnerships with Trevor Noah, Mel Robbins, and Conan O’Brien.
SiriusXM will release its third quarter 2025 operating and financial results on Thursday, October 30.
