It’s official — podcasts have firmly established themselves as a dominant force in advertising, eclipsing traditional channels like radio. New figures from Acast, the world’s largest independent podcast company, and Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, reveal that an impressive 42% of the UK public have listened to a podcast in the past week, and 21% have listened podcast.
Podcasts have matured into an important platform for advertisers to interact with diverse audiences. The surge in podcast popularity reflects changes in consumer behavior, with on-demand content increasingly popular for its convenience, variety and accessibility.
Podcasts are one of the media channels with the biggest growth in consumption over the past six months (listening to podcasts is up 43% and podcast viewing is up 39%), with listeners citing a number of reasons such as self-development and mental health. reason.
Podcasts’ unique appeal to advertisers
Podcasts offer advertisers a unique environment that combines the private and personal nature of audio content with sophisticated targeting capabilities. Data shows that podcast advertising is considered to be one of the least intrusive types of advertising (second only to films), with UK Public Trust podcasts having twice as many celebrity ambassadors (45% vs 20%).
This combination allows for efficient and personalized advertising that resonates with listeners better than traditional broad-spectrum advertising methods such as radio. In fact, 25% of monthly podcast listeners don’t listen to radio.
multi-pass approach
Video podcasts cannot be ignored. More than half of monthly podcast listeners (51%) have watched a video podcast in the past seven days, and 37% of UK listeners actually prefer podcasts that include videos.
The immersive experience of podcasts helps form strong listener relationships, making podcast advertising a valuable tool for brands aiming to expand their reach and impact. Video podcasts allow listeners to enjoy visual participation and see the host’s facial reactions or body language.
Josh Woodhouse, regional managing director for the UK and Ireland, said: “Podcasts have transformed into a mainstream media channel in an incredibly short period of time. Our latest findings underline the importance of podcasts as both a popular entertainment medium and a powerful advertising platform. It’s clear that podcasts are not only Keeping pace with traditional media and setting new standards for how content and advertising interact in the digital age.
For Acast’s full Podcast Listener Landscape 2024 report, please email sales.uk@acast.com.
