Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Podcast audiences are growing all the time in every market across the world. But that doesn’t mean that it needs to be complicated to tap into this trend. Understanding the podcast market, and planning your media plan effectively, can reap rewards for your brand.
Podcast audiences like advertising
Some of the newest data into podcast advertising reinforces existing research which demonstrates that podcast advertising is a very effective way to reach audiences. Podcast listeners are more engaged with the content that they are listening to, and also respond well to advertising within podcasts believing that ‘Advertising on a podcast is the best way for a brand to reach me’ (50% agree).
- 65% believe that they pay more attention to ads on podcasts versus other media and they can have a positive effect on sales with reported impacts:
- 74% have visited a company’s website
- 65% have made a purchase
- 56% have recommended a product/service to others
If this is how podcast advertising works then it provides a successful argument for investing in this medium.
Gen Z find advertising useful
But what about individual audiences within the podcast market. A recent study into Gen Z found that the effectiveness of podcast advertising is even more impactful amongst younger audiences. Specifically that:
- 84% find products discussed by host to be useful
- 80% find sponsorships useful
- 76% find pre-recorded ads useful.
- And, 47% are more likely to remember ad vs hearing it in traditional media.
These numbers are significant and show the impact that podcast advertising can have for a brand.
Source: The Medium Moves the Message, Sounds Profitable, March 2023
Audio superfans
Podcast listeners are also super fans of audio in general, consuming +41% more audio than average. That said, these listeners also consume podcasts more than any other audio source of media so effectively, their love of podcasts is driving up their overall media consumption.
In addition, podcast listeners are more active across social media platforms compared to the general population. A number of factors could explain this: podcast listeners are engaged with content, and so likely to be proactive in associated online communities. Podcast listeners also skew slightly younger within the population.
Despite the overall audience being skewed younger than other audio channels, this is not to say that the podcast market is not also a fantastic opportunity to reach older audiences as we are also seeing a rapid growth of listeners amongst 35-54 year olds.
Ways to reach podcast audiences
Podcasting is incredibly accessible and user-friendly. Listeners choose their shows on-demand and are incredible engaged with the content which makes it the perfect medium for storytelling. Without distraction of other content and with a significantly less percentage of ads, listeners sink into and immerse themselves in the narrative.
Probably the most familiar way to enter the podcasting market is through advertising or sponsorship. This is particularly beneficial if you have a brand awareness or sales objective in mind.
Podcast advertising
Pure advertising is purchased through third party platforms (Auddy, ACast, Spotify) to tap into specific audiences on a CPM (cost per thousand) basis. You provide a 30 second asset and it is delivered to your audience based on the number of impressions that you have purchased.
Host-read advertising
In contrast, sponsorship or host read ads is a higher cost to entry, but the podcast hosts themselves will record a sponsored read to deliver to their captive audience. This is considered to be a premium solution for brands and has a much greater impact ultimately delivering your objectives effectively. Auddy specialise in finding the best podcasts across the DACH region to meet your objectives and work with you to ensure that the process is simple and effective.
Both advertising routes have merit and depending on your budget and objectives, you may want to test both to see which works best for your business.
Advertising delivers action
But it’s worth considering a few other things……A lot of research has gone into understanding the effects of advertising and sponsorships within podcasting. One of the most reputable is Edison’s recent study into podcast Super Listeners which found that 74% state that they have visited a company website following hearing an advertisement or sponsorship on a podcast that they regularly listen to. 51% of podcast Super Listeners also agree that they pay more attention to advertising messages within podcasts compared to other forms of media. That is worth taking note of and demonstrates why the podcast space can be a valuable addition to your media plan.
But why is this important for brands and businesses? Put simply, the overall heightened consumption of media and content in general vs the overall population means that businesses need to use podcasts in a way which engages their audience but also which cuts through the noise of all the other content which is capturing their attention.
Take a look at our articles:
- What are the benefits of podcast advertising?
- Who listens to podcasts?
- Which is best for my brand; programmatic advertising vs sponsored reads?
for more information about this topic.
Speak to the team at Auddy to help develop your strategy, media plan and implement your advertising campaign to podcast audiences across the DACH region.