Radio is the most trusted media channel*, and the jingle is a tool that makes your entire marketing mix work harder. So why are marketers leaving money on the table?
As marketers, we all love a jingle. That unique earworm that just embeds itself in the mind of consumers, but not enough marketers are using them.
That was the major finding in Cannes last week when Professor Mark Ritson told the room: “After 35 years, a PhD, teaching at MIT, my big message to you is: get a jingle and use a jingle… in 80% of your ads, your customer doesn’t know it’s you.” **
It was a simple message backed by compelling global evidence: that audio is the campaign catalyst – it doesn’t just work hard; it makes the rest of a brand’s marketing mix work harder.
The study marked the first time the audio industry bodies of Australia, the UK, Ireland and the US joined forces. The session at Cannes Lions, ‘The Secret to Profit and Trust: Audio,’ brought together Professor Mark Ritson and System1’s Andrew Tindall to present global evidence on audio effectiveness.
The ad ran. Did anyone know it was yours?
Ritson remarked that 80% of advertising is effectively unbranded in audiences’ minds. How? Because people often remember the ad but not the brand behind it. As Ritson reminded us, “The purpose of advertising, let me remind you, is to advertise.”
This is where the power of audio becomes evident. Research from System1 and Effie’s global dataset shows distinctive audio assets – like sonic devices and jingles – drive stronger brand recognition than visual elements like logos or colours.***
Brands that use audio effectively also know that distinctive sonic assets compound over time. They invest consistently, running them for years rather than weeks.*** Audio’s unique combination of intimacy and influence means that sonic branding keeps working long after the campaign ends.
The campaign catalyst effect
The global data reinforces audio’s outsized impact. The Effie x System1 Databank covering 1,262 campaigns spanning 17 years across the UK, Ireland, Europe and the US revealed that campaigns with audio, compared to those without, can boost both trust and price insensitivity by 81%. They also saw profit lift by 75% and customer acquisition climb by 19%.
The reality is that across markets and categories, adding audio into your marketing mix makes everything work harder.
The unequivocal case for audio’s effectiveness
Audio’s profit contribution also scales with media spend. Across 14 key brand and business metrics, the average uplift for all campaigns with audio was 22% compared with campaigns without audio**.
These findings build on Australian research commissioned by CRA, conducted by Professor Mark Ritson and independent marketing consultant Rob Brittain, using the Advertising Council of Australia’s Effectiveness Database. That analysis found that allocating 11% or more of a campaign’s media budget to audio nearly doubled key business outcomes, including new customer acquisition and brand distinctiveness.****
The message isn’t that marketers should simply spend more on audio. Although the evidence says they should. But equally, when audio is used strategically, it makes every channel more effective.
The question has shifted
Together, the Australian and global evidence tells a consistent story about audio’s ability to drive effectiveness.
Australian research highlights that, in this market, the conversation has shifted from “should we include audio?” to “how do we get to 11%?” The global evidence presented in Cannes last month now takes this a step further: “What happens when we unlock audio’s full creative potential?”
When brands are heard and the power of audio is fully leveraged, then campaigns perform better.
So, I’ll ask again: when did you last put your jingle at the heart of your brief or wider campaign?
***
Lizzie Young is CEO of Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA), the peak industry body representing the interests of commercial radio broadcasters across Australia.
References
- EBU Trust in Media, EU 2024, presented by Professor Mark Ritson, LBB Beach, Cannes Lions, June 2026.
- Presented by Professor Mark Ritson, LBB Beach, Cannes Lions, June 2026. Research from the Effie x System1 Databank, 1,262 campaigns, 2007–2023 (UK, Ireland, Europe and US).
- System1’s global Test Your Ad database, 500 US and European Ads coded for 7 different types of distinctive assets used. % of ads in top 25% for Final Fluency.
- 11% media budget allocation: Advertising Council Australia (ACA) Effectiveness Database (2018-2025), analysed by Rob Brittain, presented by Professor Mark Ritson at HEARD 2026.
