Podcasts

A podcast is a digital audio programme that listeners can download or stream, often as episodes on a topic such as cooking or gaming. When a business pays for a promotional message in a podcast, or controls its own series, this is podcast advertising: a digital advertising medium, not a non-digital one like a poster.

Why a business might use podcast advertising

• Targeting by interest: podcasts are built around a subject, so a business can choose a show whose listeners share its customers' interests.
• Engaged audience: listeners choose to download or stream the episode, so they are likely to be interested in the subject.
• Detailed audio messages: an advert or a segment read by the host can talk through a product for 30 seconds or more, explaining how it works.
• Sponsorship: a business can pay to be named as a sponsor of a series, so its name is repeated in every episode.
• Relatively low cost: producing and placing a podcast advert is usually much cheaper than television or cinema advertising.

Drawbacks to weigh up

• Podcasts have a smaller audience than mass media, so reach is limited.
• They are audio only, so you cannot show what a product looks like or how it is used.
• Podcast adverts need production, and running your own series also needs hosting, which takes time and money.
• Listeners may skip adverts by fast-forwarding.
• Results can be difficult to measure, because it is hard to tell how many listeners heard an advert and then bought.

Worked example: a small business selling beekeeping starter kits sponsors a beekeeping podcast. The host reads a minute-long message describing each kit, which suits hobbyists who are already interested and costs far less than a television campaign. However, the show has only a few thousand listeners, the kits cannot be shown, and the owner cannot easily count how many sales came from the message.

Podcast advertising suits a business with an audio message for a specialist or engaged audience, where detailed talk or sponsorship can build interest. It is less suitable when a product needs to be shown visually or the campaign needs mass reach.