2025 federal election has not only reaffirmed Australia’s political leadership, but it has also transformed the way campaigns engage with voters. Throughout April, one trend stood out: digital audio has become a key battleground for political messaging.
Through our programmatic audio marketplace, we observed that political advertising accounted for 20.8% of all audio revenue in April, significantly surpassing more traditional categories, such as automotive combined with buying/selling cars (14.1%), and food & drink (7.1%).
It was a dominant showing and one that reinforces digital audio’s power to deliver high-attention, trusted, and scalable communication
during high-stakes moments.
Digital audio holds a powerful and distinctive place in today’s media landscape. It offers a high-attention, low-clutter environment that reaches Australians during moments of true connection, whether they're commuting, working out, cooking, or unwinding on an evening walk. Unlike screen-based ads that are easily skipped or scrolled past, audio is intimate and immersive, delivered directly through headphones or car speakers when listeners are most engaged. That’s why audio has become a go-to channel, not just for brands, but increasingly for political parties looking to make a lasting impact with voters.
This strategic embrace of audio isn't unique to Australia. In the United States, podcasting has become a powerful tool in political communication. Political campaigns increasingly leverage longform interviews to dive deep into policy discussions, use targeted ad placements to reach specific voter segments, and rely on host-read endorsements to build authenticity and trust with listeners. These tactics tap into podcasting’s unique strength, a loyal, engaged audience that values the opinions of trusted hosts and consumes content in moments of undivided attention. A notable example of this was the much publicised, and some say, election winning interview between Joe Rogan and Donald Trump.
Australian political campaigns in 2025 adopted many of these same tactics. Notably, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sitting down with Mamamia’s No Filter, and Peter Dutton joining Mark Bouris on Straight Talk. Parties and advocacy groups not only leveraged these opportunities to speak to voters but also took the extended reach through targeted podcast advertisements and placements across genre-relevant shows to engage audiences in contextually rich and trusted environments.
Within Triton Digital’s programmatic marketplace, data has revealed how political advertisers distributed their spend across formats: 55.2% of impressions came through in-stream audio, primarily live commercial radio, ideal for broad, regional reach and top-of-funnel awareness. 42.2% went to podcasts, enabling message alignment with specific genres and demographics and the remaining 2.7% was delivered via on-demand music and audio platforms accessing Triton's programmatic marketplace.
And it wasn’t just about format; it was about context. The most targeted genres for political messaging were:
These formats offered alignment with engaged and contextually targeted audiences, making them prime real estate for political parties.
With the election now behind us, the spotlight returns to commercial advertisers. We're already seeing demand return across key verticals,
such as automotive, food and drink, and finance, many of which were temporarily displaced by the surge in political campaigns in April.
But if there's one lesson advertisers can take from the election cycle, it's this. Digital audio is no longer a rising trend. It’s a core pillar of modern media strategy.
If you want to explore opportunities across our podcasting and live streaming inventory? Contact our team at marketops@tritondigital.com to learn more.