How do advertisers regard podcasting as a potential marketing medium? Where are they with that thinking, in a progression from discussion to action?
Those are the questions addressed in the latest Cumulus Media / Westwood One research — Advertiser Perceptions: The state of podcast advertising, a nine-year tracking study — fielded by Advertiser Perceptions.
The study asked four questions which concisely span the conception-to-action cycle for advertisers:
- Have you and your colleagues discussed podcast advertising for potential media investment?
- How likely are you to consider advertising in podcasts in the next six months?
- How likely are you to actually advertise in podcasts in the coming six months?
- Do you currently advertise in podcasts?
Providing much more than a snapshot, this study’s overriding value is a nine-year tracking arc, showing (roughly) annual results since 2015. So, for example, we learn that 41% of advertisers discussed podcast advertising in 2015, and that metric is 77% in 2023. (Quite interestingly, it was 87% last year. This article could be titled, “Advertiser interest in podcast advertising drops 11% in a year.”)
Moving from discussion to intent, there is no ambiguity — 63% of respondents “definitely would consider” podcast advertising in the next year.
The next question measured intent: In that question, the positive reply jumped 58% year-over-year, which Cumulus says is a nine-year record acceleration of intent: How likely are the respondents “to actually advertise in podcasts in the coming six months.” The 58% positive responses represent a nine-year high mark and a tipping point — the first 50%+ result.
The graph below summarizes the nine-year trends for all four questions.
