More than half of advertisers say the biggest barrier to spending more on digital audio isn’t cost or creative, it’s proving the return. The reason why reveals more about the state of modern ad measurement than it does about audio’s actual performance.
A November 2025 survey from eMarketer and Amazon Ads puts audio’s biggest budget roadblock in plain terms: measurement. The survey, as highlighted by the Cumulus Media/Westwood One Audio Active Group, polled 100 advertising professionals across the industry and allowed respondents to select all applicable barriers, producing a layered view of what’s holding the medium back.
Asked what most prevents advertisers from investing more, 55% of respondents said difficulty measuring return on investment is their top challenge, positioning attribution and proof of performance as the primary constraint on incremental spend.
Budget constraints ranked second at 39%. The perception that digital audio is less effective than other channels followed at 36%, a notable result given the amount of third-party research that has argued audio’s performance compares favorably against competing media. Targeting limitations were cited by 26% of respondents, followed by creative production challenges at 22%, lack of internal expertise or resources at 21%, and limited scale or reach at 17%. Six percent selected none of the above, and 5% cited other barriers.
On the objective side, the survey asked advertisers to identify the primary goals driving their digital audio spend, allowing up to three selections. Brand awareness led at 68%. Reaching new audiences ranked second at 48%, and consideration or brand favorability placed third at 40%. Driving traffic to retail or e-commerce destinations was cited by 28% of respondents. Direct response goals followed at 27%. Customer loyalty and retention rounded out the list at 23%, with 4% selecting other objectives.
Those rankings matter because they point to a structural tension at the center of the ROI complaint. Most advertisers say they are using audio primarily for upper-funnel outcomes like awareness, reach, and favorability. Yet the measurement tools most commonly relied on to evaluate ROI, like click-through rates, conversion tracking, and last-touch attribution, are built for lower-funnel activity.
Despite misconceptions, audio’s real ROI has been proven on numerous occasions.
Circana’s Global Compass Media Mix Modeling Benchmarks, as cited by the Audio Active Group, rank AM/FM radio second globally by weighted average ROI at $2.00 returned per dollar spent, and in the US place AM/FM radio fourth at $2.14. Yet the 2025 Circana Global Annual Marketing Survey, as cited, finds CMOs rank AM/FM radio last in perceived channel effectiveness at 46%. WPP Media and Radiocentre’s High Gain Audio reports digital audio’s 13-week short-term profit ROI at around $3.54 per dollar spent, and its two-year full-term ROI at $6.81, figures that align more naturally with brand-building timelines than with campaign-window conversion reporting.
When upper-funnel audio is judged on lower-funnel instrumentation, impact can be systematically undercounted and then reinforce the “less effective” perception identified elsewhere, even as the channel continues to be deployed for brand-building.
