When the first podcast launched in 2003, it would’ve been hard to predict that it would become an industry worth over $20 billion, just twenty years later. As with all booming industries, advertising dollars eventually followed and podcast advertising quickly became an efficient and reliable medium for brands. While it is an exciting advertising channel, it may not be right for every brand, in this article we’ll explore how to decide if advertising on podcasts makes sense for your business.
What is Your Business?
Whether you’re selling a product, a service, an experience, or all three rolled into one, podcast advertising can be a good fit. Many think that if a product is highly visual or is an in-person service, podcasts won’t be a good place for them. But advertisers like Toyota and Bose, each of which spent $3.6M and $632K respectively on podcast ads in September 2024, disagree. The truth is, just about any category can make sense for podcast advertising.
According to a study from IAB, the top categories for podcast revenue were:
- Arts & Entertainment
- Financial Services
- Consumer Goods
- Retail
- Pharma
- Telecommunications
- Automotive
That’s right, all drastically different. Some driving online sales, others attempting to convert in person. Services, CPG, medicine, cars, there are no strict guidelines for what will and won’t work on podcasts.
Who’s your customer?
Even the most perfectly targeted messaging falls flat in front of the wrong audience. While podcasts are extremely popular it should be noted that the majority of their popularity comes from a younger audience. In 2024 only 27% of podcast listeners are over the age of 55, while this number is growing, it’s important to pick the right genres of podcast to reach this generation. So if you’re targeting 55+, traditional radio may continue to be a more effective and oftentimes more efficient option.
Understanding who is listening to a given show is a must to decide if a partnership makes sense with that podcast. With millions of podcasts out there, there’s a niche for just about every product. When advertising on a well matched podcast, your product is likely to resonate and you can count on your host to give an informed, enthusiastic read that listeners will trust. However it’s important to note that some things can be too niche. Selling AI software for livestock auctioneers? We might need to look at other channels.
Where do you operate?
Do you operate nationwide, internationally or locally? This is a major factor in deciding which podcasts will make sense for your brand. If you only operate in certain regions there are still options, but it’s important to remember it’s going to take some extra consideration.
If you’re a brand that operates only in the USA, buying a British podcast may not be the best option. Even if they have a large following in the U.S., chances are much of your ad dollars will be wasted on those who can’t buy your product, even if they wanted to. This is where DAI (Dynamic Ad Insertion) can be useful, allowing you to choose which countries, regions or even zip codes you’d like to serve your ads.
Local businesses may also have interest in podcast advertising, but feel deterred. While not all podcasts can dynamically insert ads into specific areas, many can, assuming there are enough listeners in your target geo.
What’s your goal?
Does your sale happen online or in-store? Do you want to track sales? Or is it just a brand play?
Being able to track podcast conversions through pixeling of a site is often the best way to measure total efficacy of a campaign. However, just because you can’t track every step of the process doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it at all. Lately, many bigger brands have begun to utilize podcast advertising (Clorox, Mountain Dew, Corona) for branding or to complement other advertising channels. The parasocial relationship between podcast host and listeners can create powerful, authentic, host read endorsements that build positive sentiment.
What’s your budget?
Don’t have a million dollar ad budget? Too bad then. Just kidding. Fortunately podcasts have a wide range of entry costs. A :60 second host read spot on a podcast could be anywhere from $200 to $80,000 . With the right choices, a four to six–week test on a single show could be just a few thousand dollars. However, we recommend starting with at least $15,000-$25,000, allowing you to buy multiple weeks on a few different shows, depending on the size of the podcasts. Then, if the results are positive, scale!
For more information on podcast advertising, fill out our contact form.
Harry Richman is Digital Media Strategist at The Radio Agency a national advertising agency 100% focused on creating and managing sound advertising campaigns through the medium of radio. You can reach him at [email protected].
