April 12, 2023
With the rise of the internet and digital media, Americans are seeing more ads than ever before.
“The average American is exposed to 4,000-10,000 ads per day. That’s nearly double the number of ads the average person saw in 2007 and over five times as many ads as the average person saw in the 1970s.”
This gives every marketer a lot more competition to cut through the clutter. But if consumers view your ads as more interesting than others (like they do with podcast ads), you gain an advantage over other ad messages (and potentially—your competitors).
But what makes listeners think that podcast ads are more interesting? One reason is that most podcast ads are voiced by the host of the show. Instead of hearing produced commercials, listeners hear your brand message in the trusted voice of the show they tuned into. Because it’s delivered by a familiar voice, your ad is associated with the positive feelings held for the host.
Furthermore, audio mediums are positioned to engage listeners’ emotions more than other visual mediums. According to Pierre Bouvard, Chief Insights Officer at Cumulus Media, “Audio narratives require active participation to imagine the story. Video narratives require less of the audience, resulting in passive engagement.”
Have you ever read a book that was so good you imagined what the movie would be like, only to watch the actual movie adaptation and find it wasn’t as interesting as your own mental version? That’s a lot like audio’s impact on listeners. Audio requires people to create their own image, which is more interesting and intellectually stimulating. Having this impact on consumers is powerful, and it makes audio advertising (particularly on podcasts) a vital tool as we advance in the digital age.
Now we know that podcast ads are considered more informative and more interesting than other ad types, but why are they seen as more relevant? Tune in next week for the fourth installment in our series, What sets podcast advertising apart: Messages that Matter.
