Audio downloads (or Podcasts) have quietly come of age; the thinking person’s way to learn on the move (well, that’s how up to 38% people listen to them!). Podcast - a term derived from combining "iPod" and "broadcast", have taken the humble blog up a gear. I was keen to consider how brands are using this medium and what the future might hold for podcasts.

Variety of podcasts give them the edge

Most subjects are covered in a Podcast; on an e-campaigning forum a request for recommendations on charity podcasts garnered 15 or so brilliant podcast suggestions. Topics range from the unusually in-depth conversations about the world's most pressing problems at 80 000 hours, to The Charity Business presented by Matthew Taylor, CEO of the brilliant RSA.

‘That Crouchfest’, Peter Crouch’s popular guide to being a professional footballer, has around 12 million listeners. Second only to Brexitcast – which had more than 14 million listeners. The BBC’s award-winning podcast with Adam Fleming, Laura Kuenssberg, Katya Adler and Chris Mason gave listeners geeky insights into the world of Brexit and politics, broadcasting the final edition of Brexitcast on 30 January 2020. The Brexitcast was renamed Newscast and aired on 6 February. And as you would expect from the BBC, a daily version of the podcast titled The Coronavirus Newscast was launched on 18 March 2020 to cover the coronavirus pandemic.

Laughing is the most important

More and more people are taking to the format; there was a 74% increase in plays of podcasts and on-demand radio programmes on the BBC between February and November 2019. And a healthy 24% of 15+ year-olds are listening on a weekly basis, pushing to 38% for the 26-35 year-old age group.

Ofcom collects podcast listening data with some interesting conclusions:

• Entertainment is the most popular podcast genre, followed by comedy, then discussion and talk shows.
• For most new listeners, over half of those surveyed had been listening to podcasts for less than two years.
• The podcasts can act as a lead in, helping listeners to discover new radio programmes.
• The BBC had the highest reach of all podcast publishers among those surveyed.
• On average, regular podcast users listen to around seven podcasts each week.
• 22% of people who own a smart speaker use them to listen to podcasts– one in five homes in the UK now own one or more smart speakers.

Despite podcasts primarily being considered an audio format, YouTube was the most commonly used service among those who listen to podcasts weekly. The only group to buck this trend was the 55+ category, among whom BBC services such as the BBC iPlayer, Radio or BBC Sounds were the most popular way to listen.

For 18-54s, YouTube was the most popular service for accessing podcasts, and video podcasts on the platform are particularly popular with people aged 35-54. Among younger, regular listeners, podcasts with videos are the most popular choice, followed closely by BBC podcasts.

Also, when we look at devices, unsurprisingly given how people listen on the move, smartphones have the largest share for devices, way out at 68%.

Advertisers eye the growth market

Advertisers are flocking to this growing medium, with total advertising revenue growing to $600 million in 2018. The technology companies that are hosting and distributing podcasts, like Stitcher, Castbox, iTunes, and Google Podcasts, are paying attention to discovering new content ideas like never before.

Apple is on the prowl. Months after Spotify provided $500m on two podcasting start-ups, Apple executives are said to be contacting media companies in the hope of funding original content and gaining exclusive deals.

Advertising is set to scrape past $1 billion by 2021 (from below $200 million in 2016) but the graph above shows the initial high growth is expected to slow down to about 20% in a couple of years, where we reach saturation point.

So too do listeners continue to rocket. According to a newspaper report by The Guardian (2019), “Global monthly podcast listener figures are forecast to grow more than six-fold, from 287 million in 2016 to 1.85 billion in 2023, according to the Ovum research company. In the UK, Ofcom says that nearly 6 million people tune into a podcast each week, double the number of five years ago.”

How to deliver a thoughtful brand message with the medium?

Podcasts can offer a new side to your brand, rather like content marketing in TV and films. They can be very personal and a format to have fun with. In addition, advertisers, with the right message can connect with otherwise hard to reach audiences, and as a truly engaged audience, offer great moments to connect. Listeners are extremely loyal to their favourite podcasts, with strong engagement.

It does require a different type of constructing and there are many different types of creative treatments for podcast ads, including:

• Blended in the programme or straight Spotify style ad on either side of the programming with a 15-second pre-roll and a 60-second mid-roll.
• Host/announcer read (the host talks about the product or service). They tend to mention why they recommend it, some examples about how they themselves use it such a holiday company or a tech product, how they benefit from it, and why the listener would too.
• Branded series about a set subject (for instance like Tesla Daily - Tesla News & Analysis).
• Presenting sponsorships. The Best Branded Podcast for 2019 went to Selfridges Hot Air; the judges said: “A beautifully produced podcast series, with a variety of in-depth, well researched and heavily sound designed stories”. Impressive to see Selfridges using its power as a retailer to communicate sustainability issues with its Project Ocean – a landmark campaign using the power of retail to help protect our precious oceans.

In the nine years since it started, Selfridges has done everything from being the first retailer to ban single-use plastic water and carbonated drinks bottles, to setting up a 50-hectare marine reserve in the Philippines.

But the overall winner of the British Podcast Awards was ‘Have You Heard George's Podcast?’, voted for its level of creativity and craft alongside well thought-through story-telling which ensured a compelling listen, challenging the notion of what can be achieved through podcasting.

As a format, it is continually evolving, so it is a good place and time to innovate, stand out and do something different. I think the next frontier is engaging with people that don’t use the format. Understanding how to inspire and drive this group to value their time with podcasts could hold the future for advertisers.

According to a recent survey by GlobalWebIndex over 60% of users say they listen to podcasts during downtime during the week and the majority do not mind ads or sponsorship messages because they know it’s a means of supporting the podcast. Good news for marketers.

Podcast audiences generally engage in order to learn something new, and Nielsen found that 62% of listeners correctly recalled a podcast ad, while the same proportion agreed that the ad made them consider purchasing the product. Research by Edison also found that over half (54%) of listeners state they are more likely to consider a brand following a podcast ad. A credible relationship between brand messaging and tone of the content is key to effectiveness.

Almost all (94%) listeners consume podcasts while performing other tasks; doing chores at home (61%) and driving (55%) were the most common, with exercising, shopping and running errands popular. Rather than reducing the brand impact, this actually makes listeners more receptive. So one can see some very good tie-up opportunities with specific moment relevant products and brands. But interestingly, the information is clearly valued in a professional context, as well as within the home.

Measuring the effectiveness of podcast campaigns is notoriously difficult. Downloads are relatively easy to measure, accurate measurement of engagement and consumer profiling are more difficult. One would need to piece together many platforms to give a “rough idea” of the basic demographic information, including age, gender and location.

But as a medium we know people are investing in, it as it is set to grow, so audiences will continue to come to the format with the likes of Sounds from the BBC.

Like brand publishing, the biggest opportunity is for brands to own their own podcast and offer intelligent comment in that area such as we saw with Tesla and Selfridges. Much like any other content marketing, it needs to be authentic, not too 'salesy' and offer genuine insights and learnings. Brands need to develop a marketing strategy to build an audience for the podcast, much like any piece of experiential or event-based collateral, delivering the right tone of voice and style will be critical. If you know I’m likely to be travelling for two hours, think about unique content; what are my interest areas? How can this be told in a story format and how does the brand add value? It’s worth investing in two or three areas that inspire listeners, as Selfridges and Tesla have done.

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Written by Giles Robertson, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Bedfordshire, Director of Green Banana Marketing Ltd and Fellow of The Marketing Society

You can find Giles on Twitter and Linkedin or email giles.robertson@beds.ac.uk