Digital Audio Advertising in 2026: Turning Listener Attention Into Brand Impact

Digital audio isn’t a niche experiment anymore. It’s an increasingly strategic part of advertising portfolios in 2026. As consumer listening habits evolve and attention shifts away from traditional screens, smart brands are discovering that audio doesn’t just capture ears – it shapes engagement and drives measurable outcomes.

A new eMarketer study shows that 65% of marketers plan to increase spending on digital audio over the next year, and 67% already include audio in their media mix. This is a decisive shift toward treating audio as a core growth channel rather than a side project.

Let’s explore what these trends mean for brands, why audio deserves more attention in 2026, and how advertisers can turn insights into strategic advantage.

What Marketers Are Saying: Adoption and Momentum

The eMarketer report reveals a fundamental truth about digital audio’s place in marketing strategy. Most brands have started the journey, but few have fully leaned in yet. With two-thirds of advertisers already investing in digital audio, the channel has crossed into mainstream consideration.

Yet nearly 40% of advertisers have been using digital audio for two years or less, indicating that a large portion of today’s market is still in the early innings of its audio investment curve.

This combination – broad participation but shallow experience – spells a rare moment in media adoption: a channel that is both proven and under-optimized. For brands willing to commit with strategy rather than just test budgets, this is a window of early advantage.

Beyond Awareness: How Brands Are Using Audio

Digital audio has often been pigeonholed as a top-of-funnel awareness play, but eMarketer finds the narrative is broadening. While brand awareness remains the most cited objective (68%), nearly a quarter of advertisers are already using audio to drive lower-funnel actions, including retail or e-commerce traffic (28%) and direct conversion outcomes (27%).

This shift signals the deeper recognition that audio can influence outcomes throughout the consumer journey. When it’s strategically aligned with measurement and creative intent, it stops being a one-dimensional branding tool and becomes a vital part of holistic media planning.

The Investment Gap: Budget vs. Consumer Attention

One of the most compelling insights from the eMarketer data is the disconnect between audio’s role in listening and its share of ad budgets. Nearly half of advertisers devote just 1–10% of their total ad spend to digital audio, and another 21% allocate between 11–20%.

These figures are telling. Audio demands attention in audiences’ lives for extended periods, yet receives modest investment relative to consumption and influence. In a media landscape ever more crowded with low-attention formats, audio’s unique position as a high-engagement environment is still undervalued from a budget perspective.

That gap represents opportunity. Attention markets tend to reward early strategic investment. Today’s underinvestment may well become tomorrow’s competitive advantage for brands that align budget with listener behavior.

Real Challenges, Real Opportunities

The eMarketer study also highlights persistent industry challenges, including measurement and budget constraints. More than half of marketers identified difficulty measuring ROI as a key barrier to deeper audio investment.

But measurement isn’t inherently unsolvable. Rather, it demands the right frameworks. Audio effectiveness must be evaluated with metrics that reflect its unique role in consumer behavior, such as brand lift, recall, attention duration, cross-channel impact, and downstream conversions, not just last-click attribution.

As measurement tools evolve and media partners improve data integration, education and strategy become the differentiators between brands that test audio and those that win with audio.

What This Means for Advertisers Today

The data from eMarketer shows that advertisers are moving digital audio toward the center of media strategies, but there’s still room to lead rather than follow.

For brands looking to maximize audio’s potential in 2026, the path forward includes:

• Strategic budget alignment — matching spend to consumer attention and opportunity
  
• Funnel-aware planning — using audio for awareness and measurable actions
  
• Creative optimization — investing in messaging and sonic branding that resonates
  
• Measurement sophistication — building frameworks that capture full impact
  

Audio isn’t new, but in 2026 it is still emerging as a strategic force. The brands that succeed will be those that see audio not as supplemental, but as integral to audience engagement and growth.

How We Help Brands Win With Audio

At ARM, we help brands turn audio insights into strategic advantage. From podcasts and streaming platforms to data-driven measurement and creative design, our approach ensures that your audio investments drive real business outcomes, not just impressions.

If you’re ready to move beyond testing and build audio into your media strategy with intention and impact, let’s talk.