5 Factors to Look for in a Streaming Audio Platform
Mar 13, 2025Digital audio advertising is quickly becoming one of the most effective tools for brands to engage with their audience. With 76% of Americans ages 12 and up consuming digital audio monthly, this medium offers incredible potential for advertisers to reach listeners of all generations. But with so many platforms available, how do you choose the right one for your brand and messaging?
Below, dive into the five factors to identify in a streaming audio platform to achieve your marketing goals.
1. Ad-Supported Audience, Size, and Reach
When it comes to streaming audio advertising, it’s not just the audience that matters—they also need to be ad-supported. Also known as an addressable audience, this refers to the total number of listeners who listen to music and live talk with ads. After all, a platform can boast an impressive amount of monthly unique visitors, but it won’t mean much if your message is only reaching a small group who listen with ads.
The size and reach of a streaming platform are critical for ensuring your audio ads meet your target audience. A platform with a vast and engaged user base allows for incremental reach and enables your brand to maintain top-of-mind awareness across various demographics. By partnering with us, your message reaches 87% of ad-supported audiences on the SiriusXM Streaming Network.
Key takeaway: Look for streaming platforms with ad-supported audiences to maximize your campaign impact. And here’s a tip: Double check a platform’s data and sources, which can include inflated numbers if the methodology isn’t fool-proof.
2. Targeting Capabilities
Effective targeting ensures that your digital audio ads reach the right people, at the right time, in the right mood, and even in the right weather. The best streaming platforms utilize a range of targeting options including:
Demographics
Location
Device type
Listening behaviors
Prioritizing a platform with targeting capabilities means your ads can be tailored to audiences who match your ideal customer profile, whether they’re pop-blasting, workout enthusiasts or country-loving, busy professionals. And of course, there’s a fine line between delivering a hyper-personalized audio experience to a listener and making them feel like their privacy is being invaded. With us as your partner, rest assured that we have never relied solely on cookies or mobile advertising IDs (MAIDs). Instead, we leverage first-party data, activity- and mood-based targeting, predictive audiences, and more, prioritizing transparency and consumer consent.
Key takeaway: Choose platforms that provide advanced and privacy-compliant targeting to deliver highly personalized and relevant ad experiences.
3. Flexible and Engaging Ad Formats
Not all audio platforms are alike, nor do they offer the same ad flexibility. When choosing a platform, consider the variety of ad formats available and their ability to engage listeners. Pandora offers the following:
Audio ads: These are seamlessly placed during music streams, ideal for delivering a brand’s voice without disrupting the listening experience.
Display ads: Appeal to both the ears and eyes with display ads. Drive interactivity with engaging CTA buttons, rich media, banners, or web skins.
Video ads: Boost engagement with video ads, which appear when users take an action like logging in or hitting the thumbs up button. We’re proud to offer 100% share of voice (SOV) and a video completion rate of 87.2%.
Custom solutions: Create a show-stopping ad that stands out from the rest, from curated playlists, to branded stations, to artist sponsorships.
Key takeaway: Dynamic ad formats enable marketers to craft campaigns that resonate with audiences, whether they prefer passive listening or interactive experiences. Don’t just focus on one format—opt for platforms where you can experiment with a mix of options to ensure wider engagement.
4. Brand Safety and Ad Quality
An increasingly critical concern for brands is ensuring that their ads appear in a trusted, high-quality environment. The media landscape is prone to misinformation, volatile news, and specific content that you likely want your brand to stay away from. Rest assured that streaming audio is brand safe across platforms and publishers.
For starters, the SiriusXM Streaming Network and our platforms maintain strict content guidelines, meaning your ads appear alongside content that’s not only legally and professionally produced, but also meets brand suitability criteria. Additionally, we use transparent reporting to give advertisers peace of mind regarding placements. And finally, all of our streaming users are logged in—which not only creates data built on real people and signals, but enables first-party data and defends against ad fraud.
Key takeaway: Prioritize platforms that are committed to brand safety to maintain trust and credibility with your audience.
5. Partnerships that Unlock More Reach
Strong partnerships with platforms and publishers significantly enhance value for advertisers. We drive diverse reach by partnering with leading platforms like Audiomack, idobi, Spanish Broadcast System (SBS), Sonos, and Dailymotion, giving advertisers access to multicultural, young, and niche audiences.
These exclusive partnerships expand roster options and provide brands opportunities to deeply connect with audiences through culturally relevant messaging.
Key takeaway: Vet a platform’s partnerships to ensure your message resonates across a broader and more diverse audience.
Why SiriusXM Media Leads the Pack
Now you know the answer to "Why streaming audio? Why us?" We deliver an unbeatable combination of scale, technology, and innovation tailored to meet advertisers' needs. Our streaming portfolio includes industry leaders like Pandora, boasts a vast and deeply loyal listener base, and sets the standard in audio advertising.
Here are a few standout reasons why we’re trusted by so many brands:
Leader in Ad-Supported Share of Ear
Like we mentioned before, we dominate ad-supported listening time compared to competitors. Our comprehensive streaming network ensures your brand consistently reaches a high-quality, engaged audience across major streaming platforms.
Data-Driven Insights
The ability to measure success is just as important as reaching the right audience. We take analytics to the next level with detailed reporting that tracks metrics like impressions, CTRs, and behavioral insights. You’ll always know how your campaigns perform and where to optimize.
Studio Resonate
Creative is key in audio advertising, but you don’t need to do it all on your own. Studio Resonate, our in-house agency, uses sound to tap into emotions, crafting audio ads that are highly immersive and memorable. From producing sleek voiceovers to leveraging sonic branding, Studio Resonate elevates your ad strategy.
Get Started with Digital Audio Advertising
Whether your priority is to boost awareness, drive conversions, or foster long-term loyalty, digital audio advertising offers a uniquely effective way to achieve your goals (and then some).
We’re here to guide you at every step of your advertising journey. From offering top targeting solutions to in-house creative production, we have the tools, expertise, and reach to make your campaigns memorable to both eyes and ears.
Ready to unlock growth opportunities for your brand? Let's talk.
