There’s a sea of short-form content that dominates social networks… and then there are podcasts.
And an extensive study by Nielsen—described as the “largest ever study” of podcast ads—has shown that promoting your brand on a podcast could be a great marketing move.
The research
Nielsen gathered findings from 610 different studies with 147,000 respondents over four years.
They exposed participants to podcast clips, some with ads and some without, then surveyed them about a brand.
The verdict was clear
Podcast ads boost brand awareness.
For example:
- 79% of participants exposed to podcast ads showed a lift in brand awareness.
- Almost 50% said they’ll seek more information about the brand.
- They are also more likely to recommend a brand or purchase from it.
It looks like podcasts ads can also improve the affinity listeners feel towards a brand, or even create affinity where it didn’t exist before.
If you’re interested in advertising in podcasts…
Nielsen recommends the following:
- Make your ads 35 seconds or more. Longer ads are better customized for podcasts.
- Don’t repurpose ads from radio or another medium.
- Mention your brand at least 8 times. More mentions equal better performance.
- Place ads at the start or in the middle because ads at the end don’t perform as well.
- Don’t worry about “who” will promote it. Ads performed the same regardless whether the host read them or they came directly from the brand.
Finally, it’s worth noting that podcast ads work best with brands in retail, auto, and packaged goods categories.
Telecom and financial services didn’t perform as well.
One-two, mic check.
The number of US citizens listening to podcasts increased 41% in the last 8 years, and the number is still rising.
So if you crack the podcast code, you could bag a ton of new sales.
It’s certainly worth trying!
