The art of engaging: How are brands winning through podcast advertisements
Stay focused on the hard sell and extravagant images. In the age of digital, consumers want authenticity and a sense of connectivity. Advertising that grabs attention is the new arena for brands to compete. Podcast advertising, a game-changer in marketing, will quietly change the way brands connect with their viewers.
As a media, podcasting provides unique opportunities for brands to establish deeper relationships with their listeners, encouraging brand loyalty and bringing engagement in new and exciting ways.
Statistics speak more clearly as well. A recent report from the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau), in conjunction with PwC, has shown a significant increase in the number of digital ads spent specifically for podcasting, seeing a massive 23% increase year-over-year. This is a sign of the necessity for advertisers to change their focus to make the most of the huge engagement that comes with the newest tools, such as podcasting.
Many believe that the use of podcasts could revolutionize traditional marketing strategies and provide new opportunities for brands to interact with their customers in an engaging way.
Podcasts cater to an affluent and extremely engaged audience. The choice to opt-in and the control is up to the user on the content they want to consume according to Agith George Kuruvilla. co-founder and CBO, Ideabrews. “Unlike the traditional format of music (largely radio) that is ‘one-to-many the way, it’s more personal and specific and offers brands a broad variety of options from (not only music) to display their ads. In addition to genres, it provides the ability to measure consumption and measurability, which are crucial for brands,” says Kuruvilla.
Due to the high engagement of listeners through podcasts, how can advertisers use this medium not just to increase brand recognition but also to increase conversions and sales?
Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular following the outbreak, and there are many options accessible, creating an excellent opportunity for brands to market their products, says Aakash Goplani. Account Director at SoCheers.
Goplani, however, believes that just putting up an advertisement or call-out on a podcast isn’t enough to create genuine attention or conversion. He suggests that brands select the podcast, channel guests, topics, and hosts to incorporate their products into the conversation.
For example, Goplani adds, if your audience is comprised of students or young entrepreneurs, Podcasts such as ‘Barbershop with Shantanu’ or “BeerBiceps” with guests such as Dipender Goyal and Radhika Gupta might be good locations to think about integrations.
In contrast to traditional channels for advertising, the majority of which are imposed on viewers, podcasts are more entertaining. They can create more intimate connections with listeners, according to Darshil Shah, Director of ChtrSocial.
Brands have the chance to connect with the relevant themes of podcasts and characters, which makes it an easier choice for listeners and also forms a better remembrance, Shah adds.
Amit Doshi the Head of IVM podcasts for Pratilipi, discusses the laser-focused targeting potential of podcasts when it comes to delivering engaging messages. According to Doshi and his team, in contrast to traditional advertisements in which your message could be able to reach a wide audience, podcasts provide a distinct advantage: highly engaged audiences who have decided to listen to the content. The self-selection process offers the perfect setting for brands to engage with a particular audience that is in line with their branding philosophy.
The magic of the locals!
What particular innovations in the field of the technology of podcast advertising have led to its development?
And efficacy and efficiency, and how can the advertisers use these advances and effectiveness to maximize their campaign’s effectiveness?
The flow of the conversation can be a major issue. The answer? Native advertising!
The importance of creating a native advertising experience for listeners of podcasts, Aakash Goplani says that companies should ensure that the authenticity of their podcast ads seamlessly integrates into the tone and content of the podcast.
“Podcasts benefit from conversations, and nothing interrupts a discussion like an unplanned ad spot, which can disrupt the experience. The only way to solve this issue is intelligent native places. By strategically aligning themselves with the appropriate host, podcast guest, topic, or host, the brands can create an ad that is native and feels like a continuation of the conversation. The listeners are more likely to click on ads.
To be interested, engaged and even enthralled with to be captivated, intrigued, and even excited by a seamless integration. They won’t have the desire to skip or speed forward; they’ll want to discover the product or service of the brand within the context of the podcast. This method builds trust and loyalty to the brand, which makes native advertising a valuable tool for marketing through podcasts,” says Goplani.
The best advertisements are ones that don’t make viewers feel like they’re being targeted, Darshil Shah. “Podcast gives you these possibilities through subtle integrations of audio and visual formats. One of the major technological advances that podcasters are noticing is the greater understanding of the data of their audience members that platforms such as Spotify continue to improve. This can help brands gain more insight into the listeners’ demographics, and to select the most relevant podcasts for advertising on,” Shah adds.
The capability to target advertisements in podcasts is relatively new. However, it has brought about a paradigm shift regarding how brands can determine the placement of their ads, says Amit Doshi. In addition, he says that podcasts are a great tool for building brand equity through an angle of content, and many companies have embraced this.
The rise of podcasts is attributable to numerous elements, including creators’ local content, genres, regional content platforms, and devices to consume them, according to Agith George Kuruvilla.
“Ideabrew Studios is well-positioned to run ads across a variety of platforms, giving brands many different platforms through which their content can be consumed. Utilizing audio technology tools such as Triton and Megaphone can help reach a larger audience across all platforms due to their wide coverage. This increases reach and improves the impact of campaigns using an approach that is content-driven,” adds Kuruvilla.
Opportunities and challenges
As the world of podcasting continues to grow, both podcasters and advertisers are facing a number of problems. In the future, industry stakeholders can cooperate to discover the potential of this medium for creating brand awareness and increasing customer engagement.
How to keep listeners. “In an age in which people’s attention spans decrease day-to-day the market for listeners to podcasts is still small. Therefore, both podcasters and advertisers must be constantly innovating to make every time more enjoyable for listeners. The fatigue of listeners is real and there needs to be an ongoing effort to avoid similar.”
Amit Doshi is of the opinion that there is a lack of budget-based campaigns that allocate a portion for podcasting. He believes that this is a crucial factor to ensure the health of the ecosystem. Instead of tackling the present issue of deciding whether or how much to spend on ads for podcasts, the primary focus should be on determining which podcasts you should give a specific percentage of the budget. This will allow for an efficient and long-term engagement with the podcast advertising market the author says.
The main challenge is increasing awareness of podcasts and understanding their potential to reach contemporary audiences, according to Agith George Kuruvilla.
“One is required to be a fan of podcasts to be enthusiastic and appreciate the medium and try out. Ideabrew Studios is at the forefront of promoting the medium and has had positive results with more than 100 companies who have committed to promoting via podcasts. It is also the time to treat media agencies with audio as a form of advertising rather than using the traditional digital method of reaching viewers. With the advent of more platforms and the personalized characteristics of listening to music (headphones) and headphones, the technology has still not yet been able to fully realize its potential. With technology like 3D advertisements and binaural FX, companies can certainly make an impact on consumers’ lives and ensure retention and even conversions,” says Kuruvilla.
The intimate nature
The personal nature of the consumption of podcasts can affect the efficacy of advertising in the medium. In this regard, What strategies are advertisers using to integrate their messages within the podcast experience in a way that respects the engagement of the listener?
Amit Doshi has identified the issue due to the tiny but significant podcast audience. Due to the size of the audience and the existing standards for compliance in the Indian advertising industry, creating completely customized ads for each show or campaign is difficult. As a result, Doshi adds, brands tend to use pre-approved designs usually designed specifically for radio or streaming platforms. But podcast ads are more successful when they’re more casual and spontaneous, a style that few brands are willing to adopt.
Listeners to podcasts have a distinct connection to podcasters specifically, says Darshil Shah. According to him, this will help the brand establish trust more effectively than other kind of advertisement. “Guest appearance of the founder that brings the brand story in front of the listeners is one of the effective forms of advertising seen but even other integrations or host narrations have proven for brands to be useful.”
Branded content is a fantastic approach to do this, says Agith George Kuruvilla.
“Building communities using content is essential. There’s more to be shared through podcasts from brands, and audio advertisements are only the beginning of the Iceberg. Imagine a brand that is promoting fertilizer to farmers through content that helps to increase their output through various topics. The subtle branding of the podcasts that focus on education will put the brand in high esteem when it solves its issues. In the age of evolution, host mentions and the engagement of podcast hosts with their products are essential to generate genuine customer feedback for brands. People value feedback from the creators, thanks to the authority. The fire is certainly sparked, and the future looks extremely positive,” Kuruvilla concludes.
Innovative measures and ROI
While traditional metrics such as downloads are prone to error, new methods of measurement are being developed to precisely gauge the effect of advertising on podcasts and allow advertisers to transcend the limitations of downloads to determine the real effectiveness of their podcast advertisements.
One of the most innovative methods to gauge the effectiveness of advertisements is to track how Google searches Trends prior to and a couple of days after the launch of the podcast. Then, follow by analyzing the website or E-commerce traffic to the product, says Aakash Goplani. Also, the mention of an exclusive offer or package during the discussion of the podcast could reveal the number of people that are coming through the podcast based on sales.
The listeners of podcasts are varied. Advertising should make a strategic choice of podcasts to expand their customers and increase ROI (ROI).
In the words of Aakash Goplani, who is the podcast’s creator, when selecting a placement, it is crucial to look at two important factors – the guest as well as the topic of the podcast. If the target audience of the brand has a common interest with the subject or the guest’s followers, the location has a greater chance of success, he states.
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