The benefits of podcast advertising?

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Podcast advertising is being considered by more and more advertisers every year.  And, there is good reason for it.  Reaching audiences through podcasting is simple, efficient and very effective.  Working with your podcast media agency to identify the right shows for your brand is imperative to ensure that you reach your objectives, but before we get onto that, it’s worth understanding what the main benefits of podcast advertising is, and why you need to ensure that it is part of your marketing strategy.

Podcast advertising is simple

There are three key steps to getting your campaign live:

1. Identifying the best shows to reach your audience

  • Working with Audiomy gives you access to German language podcasts across Germany, Austria and Switzerland in a whole of market approach.  By this we mean that we don’t just select podcasts that we have exclusive contracts with, we scan the whole market to find the best shows to meet your brief.
  • Once we have identified these shows, we work with the creators on your behalf book in the campaign and co-ordinate the creative…..yes…just one point of contact for you!

 

2. Developing the creative

  • Once you have identified the right show/s to reach your audience, it is incredibly easy to get your ad campaign live in podcasting.
  • Firstly, there are two main types of creative assets – a 30 ad spot which you use for programmatic advertising, or a creative spot which is developed for your brand by the podcast host itself.  The latter takes away a lot of the blood, sweat and tears that you get when scripting, recording and approving a standard ad……and also has a huge benefit to your budget!  Take a look at our article to help you work out which is the best option for your brand: Which is best for my brand; programmatic advertising vs sponsored reads?
  • To ensure you get the most out of the creative, take a look at our tips for briefing a podcast host.  How to brief a podcaster to create engaging content for your brand?

 

3. Scheduling your ad campaign to go live

  • Your account manager at Audiomy will be your one point of contact to co-ordinate you the delivery of your campaign; ensuring that the briefing and approval process is as simple as possible.

 Podcast advertising is efficient

As a brand owner, you often know who your desired target audience is but practicalities such as your budget or resources means that you need to make decisions which ensure that you get the best return on investment possible.  One of the key reasons why podcasting has become so popular for advertisers is that it’s possible to identify exactly what shows your audience is listening to.  Therefore, you have less wastage in your media plan and you can focus your efforts to your podcast advertising campaign.  Whether you are selecting a specific show, or a particular target demographic, this is a very efficient way to purchase media.  Not to mention the difference in cost vs buying broadcast media such as TV, print or radio!

Not only is the media buying efficient, but podcast consumers are uniquely receptive to podcast ads and less likely to avoid them than other digital media ads. Host read ads are especially popular, yet there is an opportunity for more fun and entertaining ads.  See our article How to brief a podcaster to create engaging content for your brand? to ensure that you make the most of this opportunity!

Source: Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights’ Podcast Download Spring 2023 Report

Podcast advertising is effective

There is a HUGE amount of research which looks into the effectiveness of podcast advertising and they tell a very positive story.  But, it’s important to understand why this is the case.

One of the core benefits of podcasting is that consumers listen ‘on demand’ and therefore they are more likely to be engaged and responsive to your brand message. Within this medium, it’s possible to purchase media to a specific target audience or even buy advertising against particular shows (usually at a greater cost).

Podcast audiences are more prone to binge listening (46%) versus TV (37%) which means they have regular opportunities to be exposed to brand messages. Podcast advertising delivers a 16% higher engagement and 12% higher recall compared to surrounding content.

Plus, podcast listeners are less saturated with ads because they are more likely to use ad-free content platforms for their other content consumption.  Therefore, podcasts offer a unique opportunity to reach these, difficult to reach, audiences than other media.  In addition, podcast listeners tend to be younger, and more educated, than other media and these audiences are known to be more positive about brands in general (average 6% points higher across all brands).

What we know is that podcast advertising drives brand awareness, recall, familiarity, affinity, intent to seek information, purchase intent, and recommendation across categories.

Source: Nielsen Podcast Brand Impact norms database, Q2 2023

Specifically, Nielsen have also demonstrated that Podcast Ad Effectiveness norms are:

  • 12% uplift in brand awareness
  • Likelihood to seek information – 8 %
  • 6% purchase intent
  • 6% recommendation

But, what does this actually mean for your brand?  Well, we know that podcast listeners are more engaged with the content that they are listening to, but these audiences 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

This is even more impactful amongst our younger audiences, Gen Z; 84% find products discussed by host to be useful, 80% find sponsorships useful and 76% find pre-recorded ads useful.  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, April 2023

So, in conclusion, podcast advertising needs to be a central part of your marketing plan.  Utilised properly, your brand will reap the benefits and it’s not only simple to put in place, but efficient and effective too.

Speak to the team at Audiomy to understand the best way for you to enter the podcast market.  We can support you to develop your media strategy, identify the best shows for your brief and deliver the campaign for you to ensure that it is simple, efficient and effective.  Speak to the team today.

For more information see:

If you would like support in creating revenue opportunities for your show, please speak to info@audiomy.com. The team can set you up  and guide you through the whole process.