Understanding podcasting in its commercial era

In the 2020s, podcasting has truly evolved as advertising medium. From being an audio-only platform, adored by passionate audiences but relatively unloved by brands, it’s become a video-first content engine with sophisticated strategies, unique strengths, multiple touchpoints and high, demonstrable ROI.

I’ve been running a podcast agency for brands for ten years, and I’ll admit that - fair enough - the medium took a while to grow up. There were fractured networks, vanity projects, lockdown experiments, a lack of measurement, huge attribution gaps, unsponsorable genres, and social assets with soundwaves but little else. But now, podcast activity for brands has moved so quickly that it’s surprising many marketers. Attend an industry event like The Podcast Show and the scale is unrecognisable. You’ll see household name presenters, numerous adtech firms, and major production houses - essentially a global industry coming together in one place to do business and capitalise on the medium’s growth. Neither podcasting or The Podcast Show display any signs of slowing down.

An unrecognisable industry

So what’s happened? On the content side, natural selection has led to a powerful tier of successful formats and publishers - brilliant groups like Goalhanger, Flight Story, Platform Media, The Fellas and Noiser - who dominate the charts, rubbing shoulders with plucky upstarts like The BBC, The Guardian and The Daily Mail Group. Either under their own steam or via networks like Acast, Spotify and Audioboom, these publishers are every bit as sophisticated as traditional media owners. They offer access to household names and super-attentive audiences in an intimate and highly engaged environment.

On the tech and reporting side, you can measure and follow audience behaviour from listening to conversion like never before. Tools like Podscribe or Magellan AI enable us to set advertiser KPIs aligned with other media in the broader campaign, and demonstrate ROI through clear metrics or brand studies. A brand like Waitrose is seeing Dish genuinely move the brand needle in a way podcasts have never done before, while advertisers like TV Licensing and Visit Scotland are able to show astonishing levels of ROI by building long term partnerships with leading shows in creative ways that the presenters can enthuse about. 

The video revolution

And then of course there’s video. Podcasting is now a fully paid-up visual medium, with video integrated into Apple and Spotify, and popping up on platforms from YouTube to Disney+. Despite causing some existential angst among die-hard fans and producers, extensive use of video means that for advertisers this is now a premium, much more brand-friendly product. Create a branded show or a podcast ad campaign, and you’ve automatically got high-end assets to run across every touchpoint. Suddenly the brilliant clip from your branded show or podcast sponsorship has sparked a social campaign across multiple publishers and territories.

And with video, podcasting is now meeting the audience where they are, with a product that exists equally well on all platforms rather than trying to force a YouTube-native consumer to move into an audio-only space. If it feels natural to you to watch a podcast, the video is right there in high quality but if you prefer to listen just put your phone in your pocket or switch to a different tab and your experience is still what it always was. Eyes are optional. 

Building a smart podcast advertising strategy

It's crucial that podcasting isn't viewed as a simple add-on or a practical way to reuse radio content as it develops. It's a media that should be handled carefully because it has its own subtleties. A smart podcast advertising strategy means building native messages that capitalise on the strengths of the medium. Opportunities like branded segments or full branded episodes mean you can authentically integrate your messages into your audience’s favourite show in ways both they and the presenters will love. You can create crafted, detailed campaigns, safe in the knowledge that people have deliberately chosen to listen or watch the podcast, not accidentally stumbled upon it. Instead of interfering with the experience, the goal is to improve the performance and actively engage the audience. Both the hosts and the target consumer will appreciate it.

And even in what would be considered the more traditional realm of the audio ad, context is everything. A well targeted podcast campaign will use the choice and intimacy of the medium as a strength, opening up opportunities for brands who would spurn radio. We worked on a unique campaign for Cartier in the exclusive environment of ‘Modern Love’ – a podcast from The New York Times - with perfectly directed first person stories, testifying to the power of love in all its forms, giving listeners a genuine 60 second gift.

The early, experimental stage of podcasting is considerably different from what it looks like today. It has developed into a medium that is completely integrated into the advertising and branding landscape, with its power rooted in simplicity and dependable human connection. Advertisers gain from a platform that is both innovative and profitable, while listeners enjoy something simple and captivating. The podcast medium has firmly established itself, and is here to stay.

The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and were submitted in accordance with the IPA terms and conditions regarding the uploading and contribution of content to the IPA newsletters, IPA website, or other IPA media, and should not be interpreted as representing the opinion of the IPA.