As more advertisers consider advertising on podcasts, ad spend on podcasts is estimated to grow some 41% year-over-year this year. But, is podcast advertising effective? What drives advertisers to choose this form of media? Here’s what a recent report from Advertiser Perceptions reveals.
In an October 2020 survey of more than 200 digital audio advertisers from Advertiser Perceptions’ AdPros community, a majority expressed a belief that podcast advertising has several benefits. Asked to rate podcasts on a scale of 1 to 5 (5=excellent), 7 in 10 rated podcasts’ desirable target audience at 5 (25%) or 4 (47%). Indeed, podcasts offer advertisers a wide and diverse audience. According to research from Nielsen, the diversity of podcast listeners exceeds that of the US general public.
Brand safety was also given a high rating by 68% of advertisers, with 3 in 10 (29%) rating it as excellent. Podcasts’ share of voice (68%), seamless integration of ad creative within programming (67%) and engagement with advertising (62%) were also all rated highly (4-5) by advertisers.
Something that the report points out is that advertisers tend to understand podcasts because they, too, are listeners. Close to two-thirds (63%) say they listen at least once per week, while more than half (56%) listen multiple times per week.
Delivering on Campaign Objectives
Compared to other types of media, spending on podcasts is fairly low. Nevertheless, when it comes to delivering campaign objectives, it ranks up there with forms of media that advertisers dedicate much more spend to.
For instance, paid social (43%) and TV (42%) were the two top media types advertisers considered best for improving brand preference/favorability. These forms of media were closely followed by podcasts (39%), while media such as display (24%) and paid search (18%) fell further down the list.
Some 31% of digital audio advertisers also say that podcasts are best for improving brand awareness/recall, putting podcasts only below TV (57%), digital video (48%) and paid social (36%). However, although about one-quarter of podcast listeners say they’ve made a purchase after hearing a product or service advertised on a podcast, advertisers are less confident in podcasts’ ability to increase sales. Only 18% say it is one of the best types of media for delivering this objective.
Methods of Buying vs. Effectiveness
Some 2 in 5 digital audio advertisers (82% of whom reported advertising in podcasts) prefer to purchase podcast ads directly instead of programmatically. The majority (67%) also prefer to buy by audience segment, while others buy across podcast networks (53%), by genre (46%), series (44%) and episode (25%).
Among these buying methods, audience segment is considered the most effective for achieving KPIs by almost half (45%) of respondents, while about half as many (22%) said that buying across a podcast network is the best way to achieve KPIs.
About the Data: Findings are based on an October 2020 survey of 205 advertisers (38% marketers, 62% agency) from Advertiser Perceptions’ proprietary AdPros community. All respondents advertise in digital audio, including 82% advertising on podcasts specifically.
