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Back in 2022, IAB predicted that podcast ad revenue would surpass $4 billion in 2024. We’re now in May 2024, and IAB has released a new report granting advertisers insight into the current state of podcast advertising. Is the industry still on track to hit that $4 billion milestone? What do advertisers need to know about targeted ads and consumer tracking in the podcast medium? Let’s dive into the report and learn about what podcast advertising can offer your business.
How’s the Podcast Ad Industry Doing?
Let’s start with a few high-level highlights:
- Podcast ad revenue growth has slowed, but not stopped.
- Over 2023, podcast ad revenue grew 5% to reach $1.9 billion.
- It seems unlikely that we’ll hit that $4 billion projection.
- Ad revenue is now projected to grow 12% over 2024.
News-related podcasts commanded the largest ad revenue in previous years, but that’s no longer the case. In 2023, Comedy jumped up to the top with 17% of the revenue share. Sports came in second with 13%, and News fell to third with 12%. Genius Monkey data shows display ads have continued to outgrow other mediums, which suggests that the possible reason for the slowed growth in Podcast ads is that people are more busy in their day to day lives than before and have less time to digest this type of media. IAB also states that they suspect that we see this shift because audiences are turning to lighter topics in their free time and entertainment choices.
Setting aside the genre of the podcast, we also have information on ad revenue share based on the content of the advertisement itself. In a fairly stable year when most industries only changed by less than 1%, Consumer Packaged Goods and Retail advertisements increased by more than 2%. The success has been attributed to an increase in data-driven branding and better location-based targeting.
As a data-driven programmatic platform, these are exactly the kind of solutions that Genius Monkey is excited to see and encourages with all our users! It’s clear that there’s value to found in podcast advertising; if your business hasn’t yet started running those ads, here are some of the basics you’ll need to get started:
A Crash Course in Podcast Advertising
Podcasts advertisements function as an extension of audio with many of the same strengths:
- More than any other medium, audio integrates seamlessly into the lives of consumers who listen as they go about their day.
- Audio already has unusually high audience attentiveness, but podcasts are even more so. A 2019 study suggests that 70% of podcast listeners are listening and doing nothing else.
- Whether you’re introducing, diving into details, or offering a discount to sign up, audio ads perform well at every stage of the sales funnel.
The podcast advertising market bears striking resemblance to video ads. Advertisers can programmatically buy pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads, and can even incorporate tag along banners when users have Spotify, Pandora, and other similar placements that have a place for a display ad to be seen if the user has the app/site open during the placement. These kinds of ads fully benefit from the state-of-the-art impression tracking that Genius Monkey offers, letting you see exactly when and where your customers interacted with your message.
Alternatively, a direct deal with the podcast producers can yield a sponsorship and/or organic ad read by the podcast host or participants. These kinds of deals have their own upsides and limitations, the biggest bummer of which is the lack of tracking. Programmatic ads are generally cheaper, easier to acquire, and integrate better into an advertising strategy.
Getting to Know the Podcast Audience
Let’s finish off with an in-depth look at the podcasting audience and how you can best reach them.
- The four biggest podcast platforms are Spotify (32%), iHeartRadio (24%), Apple Podcasts (21%), and Pandora (4%).
- Despite Spotify’s higher overall popularity, over 70% of podcast downloads occur on Apple Podcasts. Offline podcasting eliminates programmatic ads.
- The largest age demographic is 12-34, of whom 59% listen to at least one podcast every month. Compare with ages 35-54 (55%) and 55+ (27%).
- Most podcast listeners listen in the midday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., with the overwhelming majority of them doing so through their mobile devices.
- More than 50% of the time, people are listening to podcasts in their vehicles as they drive. This is at least part of the reason podcast ads are skipped much less frequently compared to other in-program advertisements.
Taking “Ad-vantage” of Modern Audio
Programmatic audio continues to impress with its flexibility and unobtrusive nature. With the right team and platform on your side, your audio ads can reach further and have more meaning to your ideal target audience. With an average $16.70 cost-per-conversion, we’re way ahead of most of the industry in maximizing your ROI in programmatic audio space.
Contact Genius Monkey today for more insight into all things programmatic and evolve all your advertising efforts to the next level!
