The role of audio advertising in building brand trust and driving business growth was among the main themes at Radiocentre Ireland’s Sounding Out 2026 conference in Dublin yesterday.
The event at the Mansion House brought together speakers from marketing, media and research to examine advertising effectiveness, creativity and the challenges facing brands in an increasingly AI-driven media environment. Over 500 people from the worlds of advertising and marketing attended the event.
Research highlighted by Radiocentre Ireland ahead of the conference found that campaigns incorporating audio were 75% more likely to achieve profit growth and 81% more likely to build brand trust than campaigns without audio.
The international analysis covered more than 1,200 advertising campaigns and formed part of marketing professor and commentator Mark Ritson’s presentation. Ritson previously presented the research at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity earlier this year.
Trust was also a central theme of a session featuring journalist and media entrepreneur Mark Little, the former RTÉ Prime Timepresenter and founder of Storyful. His contribution focused on the challenges of maintaining trust as artificial intelligence changes the media environment.
Speaking ahead of the event, CEO of Radiocentre Ireland, Ciarán Cunningham, said businesses needed to understand which marketing investments delivered returns while adapting to technological change.
“Trust is fundamental to the relationship between businesses and their customers, but the environment in which that trust is established is changing rapidly,” he said.
“Businesses need to understand what delivers real returns on their marketing investment while responding to the challenges of new technology and changing media habits.”
The conference programme also featured Professor Rachel Kennedy of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, Beth Marchant of System1 and Ralph van Dijk of Eardrum, with sessions examining brand growth, creativity and advertising effectiveness.
Irish research from Radiocentre Ireland was included in the programme, alongside a discussion featuring Group CMO of Bank of Ireland, Laura Lynch, and founder of Run with Foxes, Paul Dervan. The discussion was hosted by Conor Byrne of That’s What I Call Marketing.
Cunningham said bringing Ritson’s research to an Irish audience would help inform decisions about advertising investment.
“The findings have significant implications for how businesses invest in advertising, achieve growth and build trust with their customers,” he said.
RTÉ broadcaster Sarah McInerney hosted the conference, with comedian Mario Rosenstock included as the closing act.
Recordings and presentation materials from selected sessions are due to be made available on the Radiocentre Ireland websitenext week.
