It’s finally the year of the podcast and it’s time to tune in

Podcasting is no longer a niche product. Over 9 million Australians per month are listening to their favourite podcasts and the industry is growing rapidly. Podcasts have carved out a unique, influential, and sizable space in the global and Australian audio landscape. Content is exploding, networks are improving and diversifying their platforms and the advertising opportunities are growing. 

Our ADMATICian Jacqui recalls listening to her first podcast in 2014. She was instantly hooked on ‘Serial’, the global, true-crime investigative journalism phenomenon. “I listened intently and was mesmerized. So much so, I can still recall the advertiser – ‘Serial was brought to you by Mail Chimp’”.

Fast forward to 2021, and true crime is still one of the top global podcast genres. The genre is a testament to how podcasts can create an unrivalled connection between podcast content and the listener. With such strong listener engagement across a variety of true-crime podcasts, the NSW Police Force launched their own podcast in 2020 called ‘State Crime Command’ to ask listeners to help them solve crimes and cold cases.

Podcast advertising provides the perfect environment where you do not have to fight for consumers’ attention in the same way you do across other mediums. Listeners are tuned in, engaged, and trust in the host or show they are consuming. It is this very premise that drives the power of host-read ads. They enable advertisers to speak to listeners in the same voice and manner they are hearing throughout an episode.

As the scale of podcasting has taken off, ADMATIC recommends a combined approach to podcast advertising. Podcast sponsorships provide a unique opportunity to align your brand with key relevant and contextual content, leverage host talent and form a deeper connection with the audience. Balancing this with audio ads across a network of podcasts can build scale and drive an incremental audio reach for your campaign, still capitalising on the engaged audience and uncluttered advertising environment.

The key to success across both forms of podcast advertising is to ensure your audio creative is designed with the context in mind. Kantar’s recent audio report outlines that podcast campaigns with tailored creative, integrate well and on average deliver 57% higher brand effectiveness results than campaigns that ran standard radio ads in a podcast environment. As the scale has taken off, there is a great balance between leveraging talent and host integration with scale and reach across key verticals. Podcast inventory now formulates a solid component to our audio strategy and has a clear role for our clients.

Reach out to your ADMATICian to find out more about how podcasts can be integrated into your next campaign.