Making Sure Podcast Ads Reach The Right Listeners.

As the popularity of podcasts continues to grow, with an active audience making for a compelling advertising environment, how do brands getting started with the medium ensure their ads are reaching the right listeners?

A new report from iHeartMedia tackles that question by focusing on choosing podcasts that fit an advertiser’s audience, and starting with the listeners it needs to reach. A marketer needs to identify podcast environments that naturally align with those listeners’ interests and the brand — and where the subject matter, host and listener mindset create a credible setting for the message — creating a strong show fit considering what people care about and why they chose to listen in the first place.

When the marketer’s priority starts with an audience as opposed to than a particular podcast, the strategy should be built around the consumers who matter to the campaign, to then use that understanding to guide where and how the brand shows up across podcasts. This works best when an advertiser wants to prioritize audience reach while maintaining flexibility across content environments.

As for which type of ad to use, the report recommends host-read ads when trust and creator connection matter, as these ads tap into an established relationship between host and listener, where the host can bring their own voice and personality to the brand message, making the advertising feel more connected to the experience the listener chose. On the other hand, inserted ads work best when marketers need to deliver a consistent message across podcast listening environments, for campaigns where broader audience delivery or message consistency plays a larger role. Both can also work together, with host reads establishing a more personal creator connection while inserted creative can reinforce the campaign more broadly.

The report lays out a six-point plan for brands about to launch a podcast ad campaign: define the objective first; get specific about the audience; decide whether show-led or listener-led targeting fits the goal; match creative to the strategy; keep context in the equation; and plan measurement around the original objective.

One major takeaway is the importance of the human element when targeting a podcast’s audience. Citing research showing 90% of consumers feel it is important to know media is created by a real person, the report notes that podcasting works in an environment built around human voices, interests and communities, thereby strengthening ads connecting the precision marketers need with voices and content people genuinely choose to spend time with. While the technology can help an ad campaign find its audience, it’s the human connection that gives that audience a reason to listen.