Branded Podcasts Are The Ads People Actually Want To Listen To
Brands aren’t just blanketing podcasts with discount codes — they’re taking over entire podcast series in the hopes of turning avid listeners into buyers.
Podcasts are becoming big business not only for creators, but for advertisers. Podcast advertising is on track to hit more than $220 million in 2017, up 85% from 2016. And now that Apple Podcasts is delivering analytics on listeners, advertisers can rest assured that listeners are paying attention. NPR says it’s found that 75% of listeners took action on a sponsored message.
Midroll, the podcast content company owned by radio and TV operator The E.W. Scripps Co., has collected their own survey data and found that podcast listeners make it through about 90% of a given episode, and relatively few are skipping through ads. To make sure that listeners are truly engaged, though, more companies are turning to branded podcasts, full series produced to amplify a brand’s story, and find an audience of like-minded folks delivered free to consumers. Shows like Tinder’s DTR and Casper’s In Your Dreams with Chris Gethard are engaging and entertaining listens, even though they are still very much advertising, which is the entire…
