The power of podcast ads

As the podcasting industry continues to grow, podcast advertising is proving a powerful and effective marketing tool.

Podcasts have exploded in popularity in recent years. Roughly half (49%) of adults in the US have listened to a podcast in the past 12 months, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center of  5,132 US adults. One-in-five of those listeners say they listen to a podcast nearly every day.

Despite this, many advertisers are still overlooking the potential of podcasts. A recent survey by WARC and Spotify of 350 marketers in North America and Europe highlights that Retail brands only allocate around 1% of their media investment to digital audio (podcasts and streaming), despite US adults spending around 20% of their media time on the channel.

But with podcast advertising offering so many benefits, it’s time for brands to start harnessing the power of podcasts, and making podcasts a staple feature in their multi-channel marketing strategy.

One of the primary advantages of podcast advertising lies in the focused listening nature of the medium itself. Listeners tend to be highly engaged and attentive. Research by Neuro-Insight and Spotify found that average engagement levels for digital audio are 23% higher than terrestrial radio, 18% higher than social media, and 14% higher than TV. A 2023 DISQO survey of 34,841 consumers agrees: approximately 33% of podcast listeners said they pay more attention to podcast ads compared to other mediums, rising to around 45% among daily podcast listeners.

With podcasts, advertisers also benefit from targeted and niche audiences, a longer shelf life (because podcast episodes remain available online for extended periods), and often a greater sense of credibility thanks to the strong connections that podcasts build with their audience.

Our weekly Nature podcast discusses the hottest science topics of the week, with hosts communicating the latest scientific research in an engaging and accessible format. It reaches 100,000+ weekly listeners – scientists and science enthusiasts – and is available via Nature.com/podcasts, Acast, Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and all other podcast apps. Episodes can be downloaded for convenient offline listening.

Advertisers can send us 30-second, pre-recorded podcast ads to be delivered through exclusive pre-roll and post-roll placement (can be one or two creative assets) in ALL Nature podcast episodes for 4 continuous weeks (including on older episodes).

To discuss Nature.com podcast advertising, please get in touch!