Video ads that carry a sonic brand cue are 8.53 times more likely to rank in the top third for branded attention, yet only 6% of ads actually use one (Ipsos, The Power of You, meta-analysis of 2,015 US video ads). The money is following the medium anyway: US digital audio ad revenue reached 8.4 billion dollars in 2025, up 10.2% year over year (IAB/PwC, Internet Advertising Revenue Report, April 2026). The creative discipline is moving the other way, with owned sonic assets falling from 29.5% of brand communications in 2024 to just 9.7% in 2025 (amp sound branding, Best Audio Brands 2026). And where brands do commit to sound, it pays: podcast ads alone deliver a 10 point average lift in brand awareness across nearly 2,000 measured campaigns (Nielsen, Q2 2025). This analysis consolidates data from Ipsos, amp sound branding, Nielsen, the IAB, and 7 other primary sources to map where sonic branding stands in 2026.
TL;DR
- Ads with sonic brand cues are 8.53x more likely to be top-third performers on branded attention (Ipsos, The Power of You).
- Audio brand assets appear in just 8% of video ads, against 92% for visual assets (Ipsos, The Power of You).
- US digital audio ad revenue hit 8.4 billion dollars in 2025, up 10.2% year over year (IAB/PwC, April 2026).
- US podcast ad revenue reached 2.9 billion dollars in 2025, up 17.6% (IAB/PwC, April 2026).
- Owned sonic assets dropped from 29.5% to 9.7% of brand communications between 2024 and 2025 (amp, Best Audio Brands 2026).
- Custom music use in brand communications rose more than 140% year over year (amp, Best Audio Brands 2026).
- Podcast ads average a +10 point awareness lift and 70% aided recall (Nielsen, Podcast Brand Impact Norms, Q2 2025).
- 60% of consumers remember audio and podcast ads more than billboard ads; 48% more than video ads (Veritonic, June 2024).
- Audio ads with a low-volume voiceover score 32% less likable and 25% less trustworthy (Veritonic and Realeyes, January 2024).
- Americans spend 3 hours 53 minutes a day with audio, 64% of it ad-supported (Nielsen, The Record, Q3 2025).
- 62% of US adults use a voice assistant, and 53% of smart speaker owners who hear ads say they are likely to respond (NPR/Edison Research, 2022).
- SoundOut’s 2025 Index now tracks more than 170 sonic brands in the US market (SoundOut).
1. Audio Logos and Branded Attention
The core economics of sonic branding rest on one meta-analysis that the industry still has not fully absorbed. Ipsos’ The Power of You coded 2,015 US video ads for the presence of distinctive brand assets and compared high and low performers on branded attention. Sonic brand cues multiplied the odds of top-third performance by 8.53 times, more than any other asset type measured, yet they appeared in only 6% of ads. Visual assets, by contrast, were nearly universal and nearly interchangeable: present in 92% of ads but linked to just a 1.15 times performance edge. Sound wins partly because almost nobody else is using it, which is the closest thing to free differentiation the effectiveness literature has found.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ads with sonic brand cues, odds of high branded attention | 8.53x | Ipsos, The Power of You |
| Ads with any audio brand asset, odds of high branded attention | 3.44x | Ipsos, The Power of You |
| Ads with any visual brand asset, odds of high branded attention | 1.15x | Ipsos, The Power of You |
| Brand characters / consistent celebrity use, same measure | 6.01x / 2.84x | Ipsos, The Power of You |
| Share of ads using any audio brand asset vs any visual asset | 8% vs 92% | Ipsos, The Power of You |
| Share of ads using sonic brand cues / music as a brand asset | 6% / 3% | Ipsos, The Power of You |
| Share of ads using a logo / brand colour / slogan | 91% / 69% / 45% | Ipsos, The Power of You |
| Brand-asset appearances per ad, high vs low performers | 4.02 vs 2.65 | Ipsos, The Power of You |
Context: the study, published February 2020, remains the most recent meta-analysis of its kind and cites Havas research finding people would not care if 77% of brands disappeared, which is the problem distinctive sound exists to solve.
2. Sonic Branding Adoption and Investment
The 2026 adoption data reads like a strategic contradiction. amp sound branding’s Best Audio Brands 2026, the 7th edition of the annual benchmark, grades 155 global brands and finds custom music usage up more than 140% year over year. At the same time, ownership of branded sonic assets collapsed from 29.5% of brand communications in 2024 to 9.7% in 2025, a 67% decline in owned-sound investment. Brands are buying more music and owning less of it: stock music now scores highest at 34.8% of communications, and nearly a quarter of brand output uses no music at all. The grade data shows who is getting it right, with A-grade brands putting just 3.0% of their audio into short-lived campaign work while B-grade chasers spend 15.8%.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global brands graded in Best Audio Brands 2026 (7th edition) | 155 | amp, Best Audio Brands 2026 |
| Custom music usage, year-over-year change | +140% | amp, Best Audio Brands 2026 |
| Brand communications using owned sonic assets, 2024 vs 2025 | 29.5% vs 9.7% | amp, Best Audio Brands 2026 |
| Sonic strategy mix 2025: stock / licensed / silence / owned | 34.8% / 24.5% / 23.1% / 9.7% | amp, Best Audio Brands 2026 |
| Campaign-specific audio, B-grade vs A-grade brands | 15.8% vs 3.0% | amp, Best Audio Brands 2026 |
| Custom music growth in CPG / automotive (2024-2025) | +22.1 pts / +13.9 pts | amp, Best Audio Brands 2026 |
| Sonic brands tracked in the US market | 170+ | SoundOut Index 2025 |
| Consumer studies behind the SoundOut Index | 70,000+ | SoundOut Index 2025 |
| Emotional impact lift from the right music choice | up to 16% | SoundOut |
Context: the payoff for brands that commit shows up in testing, where Doritos’ audio logo scored 23% above the CPG recall benchmark and lifted brand appeal 12% (Veritonic). The same owned-sound logic extends into physical retail, where our in-store music statistics show how sound shapes shopper behavior at the shelf.
3. The Audio Advertising Economy
Sonic branding sits on top of an audio economy that keeps outgrowing expectations. Per the IAB/PwC Internet Advertising Revenue Report covered by Sounds Profitable, US digital audio advertising reached 8.4 billion dollars in 2025, and podcasting’s 2.9 billion dollar slice grew 17.6%, outpacing the category. The attention base underneath is enormous: Americans spend 3 hours 53 minutes with audio every day, and 64% of that time is ad-supported (Nielsen, The Record, Q3 2025). Radio still anchors the ad-supported day at 62% of listening time, with podcasts at 20%, which means 82 cents of every ad-supported audio minute flows through just two channels.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US digital audio ad revenue, 2025 | $8.4B (+10.2% YoY) | IAB/PwC, via Sounds Profitable |
| US podcast ad revenue, 2025 | $2.9B (+17.6% YoY) | IAB/PwC, Internet Advertising Revenue Report |
| Daily time spent with audio (US) | 3h 53m (64% ad-supported) | Nielsen, The Record, Q3 2025 |
| Ad-supported listening: radio / podcasts / streaming / satellite | 62% / 20% / 15% / 3% | Nielsen, The Record, Q3 2025 |
| Podcast share of daily ad-supported audio, adults 18-34 | 32% | Edison Research, Share of Ear, Q2 2025 |
| US monthly online audio listeners, age 12+ | 79% (~228M) | Edison Research, The Infinite Dial 2025 |
| Americans 12+ who have ever consumed a podcast | 73% (~210M) | Edison Research, The Infinite Dial 2025 |
| Radio listeners tuning a network-affiliated station weekly | 93%+ | Nielsen, The Record, Q3 2025 |
Context: the channel-level economics behind these totals are broken out in our podcast advertising statistics and radio industry statistics.
4. Audio Ads vs Billboards, Display, Video, and Social
When consumers compare channels directly, sound holds up better than most budgets assume. Veritonic’s June 2024 survey of US podcast listeners, published through its research hub, asked people which ads they actually remember. 60% said they remember audio and podcast ads more than billboard ads, 49% more than display ads, and 48% more than video ads. Nielsen’s norms database backs the self-reports with measured campaign lift: across roughly 2,000 podcast studies, awareness rises 10 points on average, a benchmark that improved by a point over 2024. The pattern holds down the funnel, with 51% of listeners more likely to purchase from an audio ad than a billboard ad.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Remember audio ads more than billboards / display / video / social | 60% / 49% / 48% / 33% | Veritonic, June 2024 |
| More likely to purchase from audio than billboard / social / display / video | 51% / 40% / 38% / 34% | Veritonic, June 2024 |
| Prefer learning about new products via audio vs billboard / display / social / video | 54% / 48% / 45% / 35% | Veritonic, June 2024 |
| Podcast ad lift: awareness / info seek / purchase / recommendation | +10 / +8 / +6 / +6 pts | Nielsen, Podcasting Today, Aug 2025 |
| Podcast ad aided recall / brand fit | 70% / 66% | Nielsen, Podcast Brand Impact Norms, Q2 2025 |
| Auto-category podcast ads: recall / brand fit | 69% / 65% | Nielsen, Podcast Brand Impact Norms, Q2 2025 |
| Campaign case studies behind Nielsen’s norms | ~2,000 | Nielsen, Podcasting Today, Aug 2025 |
Note: the Veritonic figures are self-reported channel preferences from monthly podcast listeners, so they describe an audio-friendly audience, while Nielsen’s lift points come from exposed-versus-control brand studies.
5. What Listeners Want From Brand Sound
Execution quality moves the numbers as much as channel choice does. The Veritonic Audio Attention Report, built with attention-AI firm Realeyes in January 2024, webcam-tracked podcast listeners through four ad variants. The ad with a too-quiet voiceover scored 32% less likable and 25% less trustworthy than normalized-volume versions, and 22.7% of participants showed a visibly confused expression, more than double the rate for the properly mixed ad. Attention quality peaked at 36% for the ad with the loudest voiceover and fell to 25% when competing sound elements cluttered the mix. Frequency has a cliff too: 53% of consumers accept hearing the same audio ad twice a day, but 55% call three or more plays annoying (Veritonic, June 2024).
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Low-volume voiceover ad: less likable / less trustworthy | -32% / -25% | Veritonic and Realeyes, Jan 2024 |
| Confused expressions during low-volume ad | 22.7% (2x normalized) | Veritonic and Realeyes, Jan 2024 |
| Attention quality: loud voiceover / low voiceover / cluttered mix | 36% / 27% / 25% | Veritonic and Realeyes, Jan 2024 |
| Say good audio quality positively influences purchase consideration | 75% | Veritonic and Realeyes, Jan 2024 |
| Accept same ad 2x per day / annoyed at 3+ per day | 53% / 55% | Veritonic, June 2024 |
| Podcast ads rated interesting / believable / natural / intrusive | 37% / 37% / 36% / 7% | Nielsen, Podcast Brand Impact Norms, Q2 2025 |
| Want ads more relevant to podcast content / shorter / with humor | 37% / 35% / 33% | Veritonic, Nov 2024 |
| Cite sound design and audio quality as a needed improvement | 15% | Veritonic, Nov 2024 |
Context: only 7% of podcast listeners call the ads intrusive and just 1% call them rude, receptivity numbers that display and pre-roll formats rarely approach (Nielsen, Q2 2025).
6. Voices, Hosts, and Voice Assistants
The human voice is the sonic asset brands get for free and measure the least. Nielsen’s Q2 2025 norms show why host-read advertising built the podcast economy: 62% of listeners describe podcast hosts as likeable and 42% as credible, while only 2% call them untrustworthy and 1% dishonest. Veritonic’s November 2024 listener survey found 20% of respondents explicitly value host endorsements for authenticity. Beyond hosts, the voice interface itself is now brand territory: 62% of US adults use a voice assistant on some device, per the most recent NPR/Edison Smart Audio Report, and Spotify’s Sonic Science research adds the mood dimension, with a third of tracked listeners reporting they felt happy or cheerful after listening.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Podcast hosts rated likeable / credible / relatable | 62% / 42% / 39% | Nielsen, Podcasting Today, Aug 2025 |
| Hosts rated untrustworthy / dishonest | 2% / 1% | Nielsen, Podcast Brand Impact Norms, Q2 2025 |
| Value host endorsements for authenticity | 20% | Veritonic, Nov 2024 |
| US adults using a voice assistant on any device | 62% | NPR/Edison, Smart Audio Report, Spring 2022 |
| Voice assistant users giving commands daily | 57% | NPR/Edison, Smart Audio Report, Spring 2022 |
| Smart speaker owners likely to respond to ads heard on device | 53% | NPR/Edison, Smart Audio Report, Spring 2022 |
| Sonic Science participants feeling happy or cheerful after listening | ~33% | Spotify, Sonic Science Vol. 2 |
Note: the Smart Audio Report figures are the most recent available (Spring 2022). The economics of the professional voices behind brand sound, from audio logos to assistant personas, are covered in our voice acting industry statistics.
Summary: Sonic Branding by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sonic brand cues, odds of high branded attention | 8.53x | Ipsos, The Power of You |
| Any audio asset vs any visual asset, same measure | 3.44x vs 1.15x | Ipsos, The Power of You |
| Ads using any audio brand asset | 8% | Ipsos, The Power of You |
| Ads using dedicated sonic brand cues | 6% | Ipsos, The Power of You |
| Brands graded in Best Audio Brands 2026 | 155 | amp, Best Audio Brands 2026 |
| Custom music usage, year over year | +140% | amp, Best Audio Brands 2026 |
| Owned sonic assets, 2024 vs 2025 | 29.5% vs 9.7% | amp, Best Audio Brands 2026 |
| Campaign-specific audio, B-grade vs A-grade brands | 15.8% vs 3.0% | amp, Best Audio Brands 2026 |
| Sonic brands tracked in the US | 170+ | SoundOut Index 2025 |
| Doritos audio logo recall vs CPG benchmark | +23% | Veritonic case study |
| US digital audio ad revenue, 2025 | $8.4B (+10.2%) | IAB/PwC, April 2026 |
| US podcast ad revenue, 2025 | $2.9B (+17.6%) | IAB/PwC, April 2026 |
| Daily audio time (US) / ad-supported share | 3h 53m / 64% | Nielsen, The Record, Q3 2025 |
| US monthly online audio reach, 12+ | 79% (~228M) | Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2025 |
| Remember audio ads more than billboards / video | 60% / 48% | Veritonic, June 2024 |
| Podcast ad awareness lift / aided recall | +10 pts / 70% | Nielsen, Q2 2025 norms |
| Low-volume voiceover: likability / trust penalty | -32% / -25% | Veritonic and Realeyes, 2024 |
| Podcast hosts rated likeable / untrustworthy | 62% / 2% | Nielsen, Q2 2025 norms |
| US adults using a voice assistant | 62% | NPR/Edison, Smart Audio Report 2022 |
| Smart speaker owners likely to respond to ads | 53% | NPR/Edison, Smart Audio Report 2022 |
Methodology and Sources
Data was gathered by aggregating figures directly from primary research reports, industry benchmarks, and named survey releases, prioritizing 2024-2026 publications, citing the original study rather than secondary coverage wherever possible, and flagging older foundational studies as the most recent available.
- Ipsos, The Power of You: Why distinctive brand assets are a driving force of creative effectiveness (Feb 2020; meta-analysis of 2,015 US video ads)
- amp sound branding, Best Audio Brands 2026 (7th edition, April 2026; 155 global brands, with WPP’s BrandAsset Valuator)
- SoundOut Index 2025 (170+ US sonic brands; 70,000+ consumer studies)
- Veritonic resource hub: Audio Attention Report with Realeyes (Jan 2024), audio ad perception survey (June 2024), podcast ad listener feedback survey (Nov 2024)
- Veritonic, Doritos sonic branding case study
- Nielsen, Podcasting Today (Aug 2025; includes Podcast Brand Impact Norms Q2 2025 and Edison Research Share of Ear Q2 2025)
- Nielsen, The Record: Q3 2025 audio listening trends (2025)
- Edison Research, The Infinite Dial 2025 (survey of 5,020 Americans 12+, Jan 2025)
- IAB/PwC, Internet Advertising Revenue Report, digital audio figures via Sounds Profitable (April 2026)
- NPR and Edison Research, The Smart Audio Report (Spring 2022, most recent edition)
- Spotify, Sonic Science Vol. 2 (2023; 400+ listeners with biometric tracking)
- Additional context: Havas, Meaningful Brands 2019 (cited in Ipsos, The Power of You); Ad Age coverage of Perdue’s first sonic logo (April 2025).
Data watch: amp publishes Best Audio Brands each spring, so an 8th edition is expected in spring 2027; SoundOut refreshes its Index annually; Nielsen updates its Podcast Brand Impact norms quarterly; the IAB/PwC revenue report lands each April, with FY2026 digital audio figures due April 2027; Edison Research fields The Infinite Dial every January; and a new NPR/Edison Smart Audio Report would supersede the Spring 2022 voice assistant figures.
Last updated: July 19, 2026. We update this page quarterly as new editions of these reports are published.