(Image credit: Will Francis/Unsplash)
BY JO HAMILTON
Source: corp.smartbrief.com, May 2022

Podcast advertising dollars are increasing, but what do listeners want from their podcast ad experiences?

Investment in podcast advertising is increasing at a high rate, but are listeners happy with podcast ads and what do they want from marketing experiences?

Just over 56% of Americans listen regularly to podcasts and their five favorite podcast platforms are, in order, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Audible, according to a report from voice-over platform Voices.

Respondents said platforms with the most annoying podcast ad experience are YouTube, Pandora, Google and Apple, while Audible, Spotify and Stitcher are the least annoying platforms for ads.

What makes podcast ads annoying?

Some 40% of respondents find podcast ads annoying for being too much of an interruption, too repetitive, too long and too frequent.

More than 82% of podcast listeners want to be able to skip ads and 53% pay for premium listening experiences without ads, spending an average $17 per month to avoid them.

What listeners want from podcast ads

More than 70% of listeners want ads to be read live during podcasts, preferably by the podcast host.

Almost half want ads that are relevant to the podcast’s content and more than 67% want it to be completely clear that they are listening to an ad. In addition, over 57% want to be able to interact with marketing spots during the program.

Do podcast ads drive purchases?

Podcast ads are trusted by 3 out of 5 listeners and more than 44% have bought something from a marketing spot in a podcast, rising to just over 52% among Generation Z listeners.

Three quarters who had made purchases were happy with them.

How can marketers deliver the best ad experience?

Although 40% of listeners find campaign spots annoying, the remaining 60% don’t. Another benefit of podcasts, is such programs provide advertisers with a captive, engaged audience who are receptive and willing to take purchase action.

When it comes to best practices, marketers should:

  • Deliver ads that are relevant to podcast content,
  • Avoid repetition,
  • Don’t be too much of an interruption of the listening experience.

These hurdles can be cleared by integrating ads within content via podcast hosts.

Listeners favor ads read by podcast hosts, giving marketers the opportunity to get their message across from a trusted source. This can go beyond simply reading out an ad to giving personal feedback on brand experience.

“You can really allow the hosts to have the flexibility to do a deeper dive about your brand and really talk about the person-to-person experience,” advised Gary Coichy, founder of Pod Digital Media.