Butler/Till, an independent media agency, today announced the completion of the advertising industry’s first agentic streaming audio media campaign with iHeartMedia, marking the first time premium streaming audio inventory has been purchased through an AI-powered agentic media buying workflow.
Launched on behalf of a US Agricultural Solutions company, the campaign demonstrates how artificial intelligence is moving beyond planning and optimization to participate in the execution of premium media transactions. Operating within marketer-defined objectives, governance and strategic human oversight, the campaign represents a significant step toward a more intelligent, responsive and efficient media marketplace.
As the largest audio company in the United States, iHeartMedia is expanding how advertisers access premium audio inventory by introducing agentic media buying, with plans to make broadcast radio available through agentic transactions later this year. This builds on iHeart’s recent launch of AudioGraph™, a first-of-its-kind capability that brings digital-like targeting, identity-based planning, measurement and attribution to broadcast radio at scale, helping connect radio more seamlessly to the broader digital advertising ecosystem. Together, these innovations are creating new ways for advertisers to buy, optimize and measure audio campaigns with greater precision and efficiency.
Until now, agentic buying has largely been limited to media channels already accessible through programmatic technology. Bringing broadcast radio into this ecosystem marks a significant milestone, extending the benefits of agentic buying beyond traditional programmatic media and signaling the next evolution in how advertisers plan, buy, and optimize campaigns with scale across channels.
“We’re constantly exploring new opportunities for brands to connect with audiences at scale and pioneering new ways to modernize audio advertising, making it more accessible, efficient and effective,” said Lisa Coffey, Chief Business Officer for iHeartMedia. “Our collaboration with Butler/Till on this industry-first agentic campaign represents an important step forward in how advertisers access and activate premium audio inventory, demonstrating how AI can help create a more dynamic and efficient marketplace while maintaining the quality, scale and accountability our partners expect from iHeart.”
As iHeartMedia’s launch partner, Butler/Till played a pivotal role in bringing this industry-first initiative to fruition, reflecting the agency’s leadership in responsible AI adoption and its commitment to helping clients apply emerging technologies to solve real business challenges.
“Every major transformation in media begins with a first and we’re proud to partner with iHeart on this industry milestone,” said Scott Ensign, Chief Strategy Officer at Butler/Till. “Programmatic buying, private marketplaces and connected TV each redefined how media was bought and sold. Agentic media is the next evolution. This campaign demonstrates that AI can execute media buying within human-defined strategy and governance, creating a faster, smarter marketplace for advertisers and publishers alike. iHeart combines premium inventory with the unmatched scale of broadcast radio, making them an ideal partner to help bring this innovation to market.”
The campaign demonstrated that the benefits of agentic buying extend beyond workflow efficiency to media performance. The agentic buy delivered streaming audio 42 percent more efficiently than the advertiser’s traditional direct buying benchmark. In podcasting, 48 percent of impressions were delivered in high-value, non-skippable mid-roll placements, compared with 33 percent allocated to mid-roll in the traditional plan. These efficiencies were achieved while maintaining access to comparable premium inventory, demonstrating the potential for agentic buying to drive greater cost efficiency without sacrificing inventory quality.
Unlike traditional automation, which follows predefined workflows, agentic media buying enables AI agents to evaluate campaign objectives, identify opportunities and execute approved media buying decisions dynamically within clearly defined business rules. Human expertise remains central to strategy, governance and oversight, while AI improves the speed, efficiency and adaptability of campaign execution.
For publishers, agentic workflows have the potential to reduce transaction friction while maintaining control over premium inventory and pricing. For advertisers like this US Agricultural Solutions company, they create opportunities to respond more quickly to changing business objectives, optimize media investments in real time and reduce operational complexity without sacrificing strategic control or brand safety.
While this inaugural campaign focused on streaming audio, Butler/Till and iHeartMedia see broader opportunities for AI-enabled media transactions across additional premium inventory over time. Together, the companies are helping establish a foundation for a more intelligent advertising ecosystem, one that combines the speed and adaptability of AI with the strategic judgment and oversight of experienced media professionals.
About Butler/Till
Butler/Till is an employee-owned independent media and communications agency that helps brands create measurable business growth through media, analytics, technology and customer experience. The agency partners with leading healthcare, consumer and B2B organizations to deliver data-driven marketing solutions while advancing responsible AI adoption, omnichannel strategy and modern media innovation. Learn more at butlertill.com.
About iHeart
iHeartMedia, Inc. [Nasdaq: IHRT] is the leading audio media company in America, with nine out of ten Americans listening to iHeart broadcast radio in every month. iHeart’s broadcast radio assets alone have a larger audience in the U.S. than any other media outlet and over four times the ad-enabled audience of the largest digital only audio service. iHeart is the largest podcast publisher according to both Podtrac and Triton, with more downloads than the next two podcast publishers combined, has the most recognizable live events across all genres of music, has the number one social footprint among audio players, has the highest-reach and most engaged influencers, and is the only fully integrated audio ad tech solution across broadcast, streaming and podcasts. The company continues to leverage its strong audience connection and unparalleled consumer reach to build new platforms, products and services. Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260820511852/en/
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