Powerful, Effective Branding with Podcast Advertising

More than 700,000 podcasts cover every interest imaginable - personal finance, true crime, Harry Potter, sports, even movies worth rewatching from 1999. Podcast Serial  has been downloaded over 420 million times in three seasons, while Dirty John reached over 10 million downloads in less than six weeks. It's safe to say that podcasts are no longer niche media.

According to Edison, 70% of Americans are familiar with podcasts and over half have listened to at least one. Eighty percent of listeners tune in to podcasts for an entire episode. What's more, a 2018 Midroll study showed that 60% of listeners have purchased something from a podcast ad. 

It’s clear that podcast advertising is an appealing option for any brand.

EXTREMELY LOYAL LISTENERS

22% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly. These devoted listeners spend as many as 10 hours a week listening to the same podcast. It's only logical that they start to view the host as a trusted friend, making their recommendations infinitely more valuable.

Unlike other mediums, podcast ads are typically delivered live by the host, integrated naturally into the episode to feel more conversational. This natural integration makes influencer marketing effective, and it translates directly to podcasts. 

LISTENERS ARE ENGAGED                              

By nature, podcasts require active listening. Listeners cannot flip through channels mindlessly; they have to actively search for and subscribe to podcasts.   

Midroll's study showed that 80% of listeners remembered at least one brand advertised in an episode, while 67% could recall a specific detail about the ad.

PRECISE TARGET DEMOGRAPHICS

Whether you want to target millennial moms, New York Yankee fans, or people interested in raising a teenager, there's a podcast for everyone. Gaining access to ultra-specific niche audiences is perhaps the strongest argument to try this type of advertising.

Advertisers can choose podcasts in line with their brand, and hosts are genuinely excited because it's a natural fit. In turn, their delivery of the ads is authentic and more relatable.

Podcast advertising presents an invaluable opportunity for brands to tap into their audience.

At FurmanRoth we’d love to help your brand create a podcast advertising strategy, so contact us today!

Smart Speakers Boost Radio

“Alexa, start my day.” Smart speakers are beginning to change our daily routines and have become one of the most rapidly adopted tech products since the smartphone. Companies including Google, Amazon, and Apple are all carving out their place in the smart speaker market as users are growing at a compound growth rate of approximately 48 percent annually. According to RBC, almost 41% of homes in the US have at least one smart speaker device. Once you’re an owner, it appears their popularity is contagious: more than half of all smart-speaker-equipped homes report owning multiple speakers placed in various rooms, according to Strategy Analytics. You can listen to what you want with the ease of voice command – no buttons, no wires, no clicking, no scrolling, and best of all, no hassle.

Smart speaker convenience creates a unique opportunity for listeners to listen to the radio more than they did before. Recent research released by iHeart suggests that 70% of smart speaker users in the US report using their device to listen to the radio. On top of this, Jacobs Media studied that a substantial portion of AM/FM radio listeners have increased their consumption of radio after bringing a smart speaker into their home. Study after study continuously establishes a strong correlation between the increase of radio listenership and smart speaker audience growth that is hard to ignore.

Finally, smart speakers are not only functionally efficient, they are also aesthetically pleasing. These modern designs of luxury pivot radio, an almost 100-year-old medium, into the 21st century with power and ease. Americans are still choosing to listen to the traditional media format of AM/FM radio, but they appreciate the sleek design smart speakers offer. Turning on the radio is as easy as turning on the lights with a smart speaker and it’s easy to remember voice activated commands and controls, which create seamless transitions for the bustle of busy lifestyles. And keep in mind, that since smart speakers are fairly new, it’s safe to assume that radio consumption rates will continue to rise as smart speakers’ popularity grows.

ON RADIO, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE (RADIO MERCURY AWARDS)

This hilarious video piece from The Radio Mercury awards perfectly illustrates the creative advantages of using radio advertising. For decades, copywriters have referred to radio as "The Theatre of the Mind," and this video sums it up perfectly: On radio, there are no rules. A must-watch for anyone considering using traditional or streaming radio as part of their media mix. 

Radio: The Undercover Hero of Advertising

Technology is everywhere and any source of information can be accessed by the quick click of a button. Today, advertising spans across so many new media platforms. But even with the advent of all this new technology, one form of veteran advertising media is still the undercover hero of advertising – radio. Who knew?

Radio is the only medium that truly is everywhere – in homes, cars, restaurants, stores and at work. According to Arbitron, nearly 93% of the US population listens to radio and more than 188 million people hear multiple radio commercials in an average week.

According to the University of Florida, 95 percent of people in their cars listen to the radio and the average American spends 15 hours per week driving, and this makes radio a valuable medium. And radio also has a larger audience than television from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm every day and often hosts the last advertising message the consumer hears before reaching their point of purchase.

Radio is highly targetable. Not only does radio have the ability to reach a wide range of attentive listeners, but radio listeners are loyal to their station, making it easy to target a station for a particular demographic or listener profile. It’s is also an effective direct response medium and advertisers can track the number of listeners on any station at any given time.

Radio is quick to produce and is cost-efficient. Unlike television, radio can be produced in as little as 24 to 48 hours with production costs usually much lower than other mediums. Radio’s low cost per thousand can increase the frequency, reach and longevity of ad campaigns and can therefore increase the company’s return on investment (ROI). In fact, according to a recent Nielsen-Catalina study, when advertising on the radio, on average, there is a $6 ROI for every $1 spent.

So when it comes to choosing your next media strategy, consider including a classic media and let radio be the hero of your message.