According to a Podcasting Audit Study by Bridge Ratings, podcast advertising spend is forecast to hit $500 million in 2020; continuing the significant growth the industry has seen over the past few years. We investigate this growing advertising medium and whether finance brands should be investing in podcast advertising.
Podcast advertising in the finance sector
Podcast advertising appears to be extremely effective, particularly in comparison to more traditional forms of advertising. According to a report undertaken by Nielsen in 2018, podcasts generate around four times better brand recall compared to digital display ads. The same report also found that 10% more listeners are likely to buy after hearing podcast ads compared to traditional advertising. A further study by advertising research company WARC also found that 78% of listeners don’t mind podcast advertising because they understand it supports free content.
This positive sentiment combined with advertising effectiveness has seen the popularity of podcast advertising soar, with a survey by digital audio advertising platform DAX finding that 85% of its respondents were increasing their spend in 2019. Financial services advertisers, in particular, accounted for 20.7% of podcast ad spending in 2018, according to a study by PWC and IAB. This makes the finance industry the second largest podcast advertising spender, sitting only behind direct-to-consumer retail advertisers.Â
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 “ This makes the finance industry the second largest podcast advertising spender, sitting only behind direct-to-consumer retail advertisers ”
Should finance brands be investing in podcast advertising?
The stats above suggest podcast advertising is growing in popularity and therefore proving effective for finance brands. Let’s look at why.Â
The trust factor
Podcast advertising is a unique medium that is based around an intimate, trusting relationship between podcast host and listener. For finance brands, who often struggle to articulate their potentially complex products to a new audience, this pre-vetted relationship presents an advantage in an advertising campaign. Unlike other more traditional mediums, listeners have often spent hours building a relationship with a particular podcast and a particular host, so a product promoted by that host is more likely to resonate with their audience. This means that both host and advertiser must be very careful to match the product and the advert to the podcast and the audience. A mismatch could mean lost audience for the podcast and a failed campaign for the advertiser.
The targeting
Unlike traditional or even other digital audio forms of advertising, podcasts are innately a highly targeted audience-driven medium. Understanding your own target audience and which podcasts/podcast topics interest them, combined with podcast audience stats, ensures you know you’re speaking directly to a highly relevant potential customer.
The measurability
The targeted nature of podcasts provides a great opportunity for ROI measurement compared to other forms of advertising. Dynamically inserted podcast ads are delivered via an ad server with in-built digital measurement options, while native host-read ads can be tracked using a combination of online data and offline tracking including traditional cross-platform options such as promo codes or unique URLs.
The growth of investment in podcast advertising by finance brands over the last couple of years suggests that this form of advertising can yield results. With critical audience targeting, trust and measurability all readily available, it may be time to consider broadening your marketing mix.
A trusted, targeted and measurable advertising medium that delivers your message in a relevant context – podcast advertising is certainly worth considering. For guidance on how this medium could work best for your brand, get in touch.Â
