Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) has unveiled an industry roadmap to deliver frictionless access by advertisers to audio's growing reach and effectiveness.
The roadmap, released at CRA’s annual conference HEARD, enhances the power of audio to be a campaign catalyst for brand growth, and the industry's mission to make it easier to buy.
“We have been busy building a future focused on what our customers need, making it easier for brands to access the unique opportunity audio delivers," said CRA chief executive Lizzie Young.
"We outperform many other channels at every stage of the purchase funnel and on an ROI basis return two dollars for every one spent.
“Audio is an incredibly versatile channel that delivers scale, is multi-platform, integrated, efficient and effective - enabling brands to connect rationally with the head; emotionally with the heart; and drive action. It really is more powerful than you think."
Commercial radio reaches 12.4 million Australians weekly in metro with audience stability maintained for more than four years.
Regional commercial radio reaches five million weekly listeners.
Podcasting is now mainstream with 52% of Australians consuming podcasts monthly, and CRA's Podcast Annual 2025 confirms listening is up 6.8% year-on-year, with more than half now tuning in several times a week.
However, industry revenue declined 2.6% in calendar year 2025 to $1.13 billion.
The industry's unified digital audio identifier CRA Audio ID, delivering streamlined access to 14.7 million monthly listeners1 across all major member networks launched via Google's Display & Video 360 in November and is now ready for clients to activate.
The next phases of the roadmap include: Demographic and location targeting powered by Australian-based consumer
intelligence provider HYP; High-value audience segments and interoperability are being explored.
The long-term ambition is the development of a unified audio exchange - one place to access all CRA member commercial streaming and podcast inventory, with consistent products, measurement and real-time activation.
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