2/3 of Podcast Listeners Are More Inclined to Consider Purchasing Products & Services They Learn about During Podcasts [REPORT]

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released the “IAB-Edison Research Podcast Advertising Study,” a survey of nearly 1,000 podcast listeners conducted in partnership with Edison Research, which finds that nearly two-thirds (65%) of fans are more willing to consider purchasing products and services they learn about during a podcast. Sixty percent also state that, given equal price and quality, they prefer to buy products from companies that advertise on their favorite podcasts.

The study shows that listeners prefer sponsorship messages and host mentions of products and services to pre-recorded advertisements during podcasts, emphasizing the advertising opportunity created by the personal relationship between podcast hosts and their audiences.

Podcast listeners often take action in direct response to hearing a sponsorship message or advertisement during a favorite podcast, including:

•     Visiting a sponsor’s web site (45%)
•     Considering a new product or service (42%)
•     Gathering more information about a product or company (37%)

The ability to listen to programs “whenever” they want was cited as a leading value proposition for podcast fans, with 76 percent saying that factor is of great importance. Other highly rated benefits were noted, such as:

•     The ability to listen to programs “wherever” they want (71%—very important)
•     The ability to listen on-demand (70%—very important)
•     The ability to listen to content that is unavailable on other platforms (58%—very important)

“Podcast audiences are devoted fans whose enthusiasm carries over to the companies that sponsor their favorite shows,” said Anna Bager, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Mobile and Video, IAB. “That ‘halo-effect’ is impressive. It is no surprise that more and more brands are including podcast strategies as part of their marketing mix.”

“These results quantify for the medium what we’ve seen in much of our client work,” noted Tom Webster, Vice President of Strategy, Edison Research. “Podcast listeners not only don’t reject advertising in the medium, they are actually very receptive to the right message, delivered in the right environment.”

To download report CLICK HERE.