The Opportunities of Podcasting and Online Audio for Advertising
Like the fashion, in the world of online advertising, we often find ourselves “recycling” old concepts, but with a new approach and mode of consumption. This is the case of the radio of a lifetime, which is once again living a second adolescence thanks to the phenomenon of podcasts.
According to the latest studies, 67 million Americans listen to podcasts every month. It is a phenomenon that is also on the rise in Spain, as the popularity of online radio has increased from 0.5% in 2004 to 6.5% in 2016. What’s more, according to the General Media Study, the internet is the second most popular source of radio, only behind frequency modulation.
When it comes to digital advertising, podcasting and online audio open up a whole world of possibilities for us to reach our audience in a segmented and targeted way, avoiding common “pitfalls” such as ad fraud. Today I want to reveal the secrets of this new way of advertising.
Podcasting, the new opportunity in online advertising
According to a report prepared for the Radio Advertising Bureau by the consulting firm Prohaska, traditional radio is in danger of disappearing from marketers’ plans and budgets. Faced with this situation, his recommendation is to bet on programmatic advertising in online audio programs.
As all traditional media transforms into digital and programmatic advertising develops, all brands have the opportunity to create highly contextualized advertising, inserted into the most appropriate programs to reach niche audiences. In this way, the cost of each print is optimised to the maximum.
It seems, therefore, that programmatic advertising in online audio is following in the footsteps of SEM, as it is the new means of creating digital advertising fully adapted to the interests of the user. But the difference is that the competitiveness in online audio is still much lower. In the world of SEM, big brands compete by bidding on the most appetizing keywords and can leave out small and medium-sized advertisers, while podcasts are still “virgin ground” where affordable opportunities can be found.
Programmatic advertising and sponsorships in online audio
In the world of programmatic advertising, there are more and more possibilities to place ads in online audio programs and podcasts. Programmatic audio, like programmatic display, allows for retargeting campaigns, advertising based on behavior and content consumption, similar audiences, and even custom audiences. The purchase of advertising space can be done through marketplaces or private agreements.
Although marketing automation can greatly simplify this process, it is always advisable to take into account the adequacy between the mood of the receiver and the message we want to convey, since arriving with the wrong message at the wrong time can negatively affect the campaign.
Another very interesting opportunity in this field is the creation of “native” sponsorships, in which musical groups are directly involved in the creation of personalized content in the form of music. A paradigmatic example of this model is the company Music Audience Exchange.
What to consider when advertising on podcasts?
If you’re targeting a niche audience, highly segmented on a demographic and psychographic level, you just need to find the right podcast for you. With a good alignment between your buyer persona and the program’s audience, you can achieve advertising where most of the impressions reach just your ideal customers.
To reach these audiences through programmatic buying, it’s wise to use first-party or third-party data that allows you to, for example, retarget your site visitors or filter by demographic and market factors.
Another aspect that is in your hands and that should be kept in mind is the frequency of impressions. If you buy podcast ad space directly, you may find a low frequency of impressions among those who listen to that particular podcast occasionally and an excessive frequency among fans of the show. With programmatic buying, on the other hand, you can control this factor to reach your audience as often as you need, perhaps by taking up space in several similar shows.
On the other hand, if your audience is broadly defined and you’re using the same marketing messages for different segments, sponsoring general-category podcasts could help you get more and more optimized impressions. In this case, what we would seek would be to achieve a lower cost per thousand to reach a wider audience.
Finally, whatever your audience, one of the great benefits of online audio advertising is that it escapes many of the common display issues, such as ad blockers, bots that generate false impressions, and ad fraud in general. Therefore, the viewing statistics will be much more reliable, and you will be able to better optimize your campaigns, in addition to not paying for false impressions.
The Next Step: Brand-Led Podcasting
In addition to placing digital advertising on existing podcasts, advertisers have another golden opportunity to reach the audience with this new format: create their podcast. It is, in short, one more opportunity to work on your content marketing, offering value to the consumer. By way of inspiration, here are 5 original and well-made branded podcasts that have achieved great success.
- 1# Slack Variety Pack (Slack)
Slack, the chat platform for businesses, has grown in large part thanks to word of mouth. Although it was originally the darling of Silicon Valley and corporate America, it has soon spread beyond its borders to conquer offices around the world. According to the company itself, it currently has 3 million daily active users and 930,000 paid accounts.
In its “Slack Variety Pack” podcast, the brand shows that it fully understands its audience. The episodes last between 20 and 40 minutes and are dedicated to talking about “work, life, and everything else”, with stories and anecdotes that conquer a tech-savvy, young, curious audience that does not take itself too seriously.
- 2# The Message (GE)
As I said before, everything comes back… And science fiction on the radio is no exception. General Electric’s The Message podcast is reminiscent of Orson Welles’ mythical “War of the Worlds.” Yes, a large multinational has dared to release a fiction podcast.
The episodes tell the story of a group of cryptographers who investigate mysterious transmissions. The success has been so overwhelming that it has even reached number one on iTunes podcasts. In the words of the brand’s creative director, it is not advertising, but content that coincidentally is created by a brand and not a production company.
- 3# TGIM (Shopify)
In the United States, the expression Thank God It’s Friday, abbreviated TGIF, is very popular. The Shopify brand turns it around in its podcasting to create a hymn to Mondays and entrepreneurs who start the week with enthusiasm.
The TGIM (Thank God Is Monday) podcast includes interviews with many inspiring business leaders, such as marketing guru Seth Godin or entrepreneur Gary Vanynerchuk, and Hootsuite CEO Ryan Holmes. Its objective is to encourage the audience to continue innovating and undertaking every Monday.
- 4# Open Account (Umpqua Bank)
Umpqua Bank is a modern and unconventional bank, whose advertising includes poetry advertisements and traveling art exhibitions. His podcast, Open Account, sets out to break the taboo by talking openly about making money, losing it, and living with it in general. In this way, it aims to connect with an audience that traditional banking does not fully understand: millennials.
- 5# The Distance (Basecamp)
What is the most difficult thing for a business? Remain open.
With this premise, the podcast The Distance, from the American company Basecamp, sets out to explore what makes some businesses old and others fall by the wayside. Rather than dealing with the latest startup craze, the program focuses on companies that have been open for at least 25 years.
In just 15 minutes, its episodes deal with companies of all kinds, from laundromats to Hawaiian bars to florists. A podcast full of inspiring ideas for entrepreneurs of all kinds and conditions.
