7 Reasons Why You Need Podcast Advertising in Your Marketing Mix
Are you advertising on podcasts yet? If not, you’re missing out. Yes, we may be biased but the numbers back us up: research shows that 64% of the U.S. listens to podcasts, and in 2022 the IAB reported U.S. podcast ad revenues grew 26% year-over-year to $1.8 billion. It’s a thriving channel where smart marketers are reaping results.
But where do podcast ads sit in your marketing strategy? As podcast advertising has matured, it caters to varied campaign objectives that fit seamlessly into every stage of the marketing funnel, offering a route to reach audiences in ways that traditional and other digital marketing channels cannot.
Let's break down why marketers need to add podcast advertising to their marketing mix, and how it can boost your marketing efforts.
7 Reasons Why You Need Podcast Advertising in Your Marketing Mix
1. Incremental Reach
Incremental reach refers to the unique audience that you can reach with podcast ads, in addition to the people you’re reaching through other advertising channels such as TV and radio. This is absolutely critical for growth marketing because if you’re looking to scale your conversions, you need to replenish the top of your marketing funnel with new customers to convert.
A recent study by Sounds Profitable found that among the 25-54-year-old age group podcasting extends the reach of weekly radio listeners by 12% and 15% of television viewers. This is even greater among the 18-34 age group, where podcasting reaches a significant 18% of those who don’t listen to radio and 19% of those who don’t watch traditional broadcast TV.
Podcasting is reaching a younger audience that is increasingly retreating from traditional broadcast media, so if you’re targeting this demographic and advertising on broadcast, podcast ads can avoid a duplicative audience buying and maximize budget efficiency.
2. Podcast Advertising is a Marketing Multiplier
Adding podcasts to your media mix doesn’t mean dropping other channels. In fact, studies show that the addition of podcast advertising to your marketing mix improves performance across the board.
Acast surveyed marketers and discovered that podcasts pair fantastically well with other forms of media by reaching young and engaged audiences. In combination with most media, most marketers say that podcasts improve campaign effectiveness by 21-40%.
The Guardian also looked at the compounding effect of podcast ads as part of a media mix and found that the overall effectiveness of an advertising campaign is maximized by adding podcasts. Their study showed that the response to marketing campaigns of “it tells me something new about the brand” increased by 34% when podcasts were added alongside a radio campaign.
They also found that combined with digital display advertising, podcast advertising makes campaigns more memorable and trustworthy, with the data showing trust levels increasing from 45% to 63% when podcasts are added to the media mix.
Podcast advertising is fuel to the flames of marketing success.
3. Build Brand Trust
We like to think podcast advertising, especially host-read sponsorships, is like a recommendation from a trusted friend. That’s because of the unique parasocial relationship between listener and podcast host, with listeners who spend week after week listening to their favorite shows developing a bond that’s similar to a real-life friendship.
A recent study from Acast looked into the trustworthiness of media personalities among US consumers, and found that 64% of podcast listeners actively seek out podcasters and create time for their content—the most of any other tested media personality—making the time spent with podcasts highly engaging and intentional.
For advertisers, podcast advertising offers a way to tap into these relationships and benefit from a halo effect that builds trust with your brand.
Further supporting this is our study with Nielsen, where 63% of respondents said the hosts of the podcasts they listen to are trustworthy, and 80% said they trust recommendations from hosts they currently listen to.
4. A New Era of Influencer Marketing
We’ve written before about how podcast advertising is echoing the explosion of influencer marketing in the 2010s, and it’s worth reiterating here.
The rise of social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube meant access to more affordable ambassadors with more modest but highly engaged followings, who could target niche areas and audiences as a means to maximize return on ad budgets. And it worked. According to Deloitte, the average return on spend for influencer marketing is $5.20 compared to $2.63 for digital advertising.
Influencer marketing wasn’t and still isn’t without its challenges. The principal hurdles to overcome are: transparency (is the reach real?), campaign management is often fragmented, and finding the most relevant and effective influencers.
In the age of podcast advertising with Acast, advertisers are waking up to the potential of influencer marketing through audio, specifically host-read sponsorships. Our solution also solves the aforementioned issues.
Acast takes measurement seriously, we’re fully IAB 2.1 certified, the industry standard for podcast download filtering defined by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).
Whether working with our in-house sales teams, or booking campaigns through our self-service ad platform, you’ll have unified campaign management and reporting for booking host-read sponsorships with our podcast influencers.
Setting up your business on Acast’s self-serve platform takes a matter of clicks, and you’re then able to browse tens of thousands of shows to book sponsorships with, searching by location, demographics, and category to find the perfect audio influencer for your brand.
5. Low-Barrier to High-Profiles
Leading on nicely from the previous reason is the unparalleled access to the biggest names in podcasting, who are also the biggest names in their chosen field. Whether that’s entertainment, health & wellness, history, culture and arts, and much more.
Podcast advertising is a media channel where businesses can work with high-profile names such as Peter Crouch, Anna Faris, and Marc Maron easier than ever—as well as respected publishers such as the BBC, Economist, and The Guardian.
These audio partnerships offer the same, if not higher, engagement for budgets much lower compared to TV spots, and give you the opportunity to position your brand within exactly the right niche.
6. Reach Audiences Away From Their Screens
Unlike most other forms of digital advertising—TV, social media, display—podcast advertising has a unique characteristic: it reaches audiences when they are not glued to their screens.
Picture this: an office-goer is stuck in traffic, their phone is connected to the car stereo, listening to their daily news podcast. Or consider someone running on a treadmill, breaking a sweat while they tune into their favorite podcast. Even for someone doing chores or running errands, podcasts are their constant companion. These are moments when traditional digital ads would miss the mark, but podcast ads hit right on target.
Through Acast, you’re able to reach listeners no matter which app they choose to use; including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Podcast ads are non-intrusive yet attention-grabbing, it's subtle yet impactful. It gives advertisers the power to communicate with their target audience during those off-screen moments that were previously inaccessible. And the best part? The listener is already engaged, already attentive because they have chosen to tune in.
7. Creative Freedom
Podcast advertising offers an avenue for creativity for brands that they can’t achieve in other mediums. Unlike standard radio or TV spots, podcast advertisements can be crafted to seamlessly fit into the podcast episode, allowing marketers to weave their brand's narrative into the podcast's storyline. This integration provides an opportunity for brands to create more engaging, memorable, and impactful ads that resonate with listeners.
Moreover, host-read sponsorships are a popular format in podcast advertising where the host personally endorses a product or service. This format is particularly potent as it allows the host to infuse their own personality, authenticity, and credibility into the advertisement. Listeners often view podcast hosts as trusted figures and are therefore more likely to be receptive and responsive to their endorsements.
Summary
In conclusion, the world of podcast advertising offers an array of compelling reasons for marketers to embrace this dynamic medium. With its potential to reach incremental audiences, enhance the overall effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, build trust with listeners, and provide a unique avenue for influencer marketing, podcast advertising is a powerful tool to elevate your brand's visibility and engagement. Additionally, it provides access to high-profile hosts and a means to reach podcast audiences in moments when screens are out of reach. The freedom to craft creative and integrated ads, seamlessly fitting into the podcast's narrative, makes podcast advertising an unparalleled opportunity for storytelling and connection. So, if you haven't already, it's time to consider the immense potential of podcast advertising and integrate it into your marketing mix to unlock a world of new possibilities and engagement. Don't miss the chance to be where your target audience is—tuning in to the captivating world of podcasts.
Are you advertising on podcasts yet? If not, you’re missing out. Yes, we may be biased but the numbers back us up: research shows that 64% of the U.S. listens to podcasts, and in 2022 the IAB reported U.S. podcast ad revenues grew 26% year-over-year to $1.8 billion. It’s a thriving channel where smart marketers are reaping results.
But where do podcast ads sit in your marketing strategy? As podcast advertising has matured, it caters to varied campaign objectives that fit seamlessly into every stage of the marketing funnel, offering a route to reach audiences in ways that traditional and other digital marketing channels cannot.
Let's break down why marketers need to add podcast advertising to their marketing mix, and how it can boost your marketing efforts.
7 Reasons Why You Need Podcast Advertising in Your Marketing Mix
1. Incremental Reach
Incremental reach refers to the unique audience that you can reach with podcast ads, in addition to the people you’re reaching through other advertising channels such as TV and radio. This is absolutely critical for growth marketing because if you’re looking to scale your conversions, you need to replenish the top of your marketing funnel with new customers to convert.
A recent study by Sounds Profitable found that among the 25-54-year-old age group podcasting extends the reach of weekly radio listeners by 12% and 15% of television viewers. This is even greater among the 18-34 age group, where podcasting reaches a significant 18% of those who don’t listen to radio and 19% of those who don’t watch traditional broadcast TV.
Podcasting is reaching a younger audience that is increasingly retreating from traditional broadcast media, so if you’re targeting this demographic and advertising on broadcast, podcast ads can avoid a duplicative audience buying and maximize budget efficiency.
2. Podcast Advertising is a Marketing Multiplier
Adding podcasts to your media mix doesn’t mean dropping other channels. In fact, studies show that the addition of podcast advertising to your marketing mix improves performance across the board.
Acast surveyed marketers and discovered that podcasts pair fantastically well with other forms of media by reaching young and engaged audiences. In combination with most media, most marketers say that podcasts improve campaign effectiveness by 21-40%.
The Guardian also looked at the compounding effect of podcast ads as part of a media mix and found that the overall effectiveness of an advertising campaign is maximized by adding podcasts. Their study showed that the response to marketing campaigns of “it tells me something new about the brand” increased by 34% when podcasts were added alongside a radio campaign.
They also found that combined with digital display advertising, podcast advertising makes campaigns more memorable and trustworthy, with the data showing trust levels increasing from 45% to 63% when podcasts are added to the media mix.
Podcast advertising is fuel to the flames of marketing success.
3. Build Brand Trust
We like to think podcast advertising, especially host-read sponsorships, is like a recommendation from a trusted friend. That’s because of the unique parasocial relationship between listener and podcast host, with listeners who spend week after week listening to their favorite shows developing a bond that’s similar to a real-life friendship.
A recent study from Acast looked into the trustworthiness of media personalities among US consumers, and found that 64% of podcast listeners actively seek out podcasters and create time for their content—the most of any other tested media personality—making the time spent with podcasts highly engaging and intentional.
For advertisers, podcast advertising offers a way to tap into these relationships and benefit from a halo effect that builds trust with your brand.
Further supporting this is our study with Nielsen, where 63% of respondents said the hosts of the podcasts they listen to are trustworthy, and 80% said they trust recommendations from hosts they currently listen to.
4. A New Era of Influencer Marketing
We’ve written before about how podcast advertising is echoing the explosion of influencer marketing in the 2010s, and it’s worth reiterating here.
The rise of social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube meant access to more affordable ambassadors with more modest but highly engaged followings, who could target niche areas and audiences as a means to maximize return on ad budgets. And it worked. According to Deloitte, the average return on spend for influencer marketing is $5.20 compared to $2.63 for digital advertising.
Influencer marketing wasn’t and still isn’t without its challenges. The principal hurdles to overcome are: transparency (is the reach real?), campaign management is often fragmented, and finding the most relevant and effective influencers.
In the age of podcast advertising with Acast, advertisers are waking up to the potential of influencer marketing through audio, specifically host-read sponsorships. Our solution also solves the aforementioned issues.
Acast takes measurement seriously, we’re fully IAB 2.1 certified, the industry standard for podcast download filtering defined by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).
Whether working with our in-house sales teams, or booking campaigns through our self-service ad platform, you’ll have unified campaign management and reporting for booking host-read sponsorships with our podcast influencers.
Setting up your business on Acast’s self-serve platform takes a matter of clicks, and you’re then able to browse tens of thousands of shows to book sponsorships with, searching by location, demographics, and category to find the perfect audio influencer for your brand.
5. Low-Barrier to High-Profiles
Leading on nicely from the previous reason is the unparalleled access to the biggest names in podcasting, who are also the biggest names in their chosen field. Whether that’s entertainment, health & wellness, history, culture and arts, and much more.
Podcast advertising is a media channel where businesses can work with high-profile names such as Peter Crouch, Anna Faris, and Marc Maron easier than ever—as well as respected publishers such as the BBC, Economist, and The Guardian.
These audio partnerships offer the same, if not higher, engagement for budgets much lower compared to TV spots, and give you the opportunity to position your brand within exactly the right niche.
6. Reach Audiences Away From Their Screens
Unlike most other forms of digital advertising—TV, social media, display—podcast advertising has a unique characteristic: it reaches audiences when they are not glued to their screens.
Picture this: an office-goer is stuck in traffic, their phone is connected to the car stereo, listening to their daily news podcast. Or consider someone running on a treadmill, breaking a sweat while they tune into their favorite podcast. Even for someone doing chores or running errands, podcasts are their constant companion. These are moments when traditional digital ads would miss the mark, but podcast ads hit right on target.
Through Acast, you’re able to reach listeners no matter which app they choose to use; including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Podcast ads are non-intrusive yet attention-grabbing, it's subtle yet impactful. It gives advertisers the power to communicate with their target audience during those off-screen moments that were previously inaccessible. And the best part? The listener is already engaged, already attentive because they have chosen to tune in.
7. Creative Freedom
Podcast advertising offers an avenue for creativity for brands that they can’t achieve in other mediums. Unlike standard radio or TV spots, podcast advertisements can be crafted to seamlessly fit into the podcast episode, allowing marketers to weave their brand's narrative into the podcast's storyline. This integration provides an opportunity for brands to create more engaging, memorable, and impactful ads that resonate with listeners.
Moreover, host-read sponsorships are a popular format in podcast advertising where the host personally endorses a product or service. This format is particularly potent as it allows the host to infuse their own personality, authenticity, and credibility into the advertisement. Listeners often view podcast hosts as trusted figures and are therefore more likely to be receptive and responsive to their endorsements.
Summary
In conclusion, the world of podcast advertising offers an array of compelling reasons for marketers to embrace this dynamic medium. With its potential to reach incremental audiences, enhance the overall effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, build trust with listeners, and provide a unique avenue for influencer marketing, podcast advertising is a powerful tool to elevate your brand's visibility and engagement. Additionally, it provides access to high-profile hosts and a means to reach podcast audiences in moments when screens are out of reach. The freedom to craft creative and integrated ads, seamlessly fitting into the podcast's narrative, makes podcast advertising an unparalleled opportunity for storytelling and connection. So, if you haven't already, it's time to consider the immense potential of podcast advertising and integrate it into your marketing mix to unlock a world of new possibilities and engagement. Don't miss the chance to be where your target audience is—tuning in to the captivating world of podcasts.
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