The overlap between the list of radio and podcast advertisers continues to grow longer, and for many new arrivals to podcasting the temptation may be to simply carry over the same commercial they are running on the radio. But a new podcast listener study by Acast finds that there is good reason to create something dedicated to the medium.
The study finds that ads created for the podcast performed better than traditional radio ads that had been repurposed. In some cases, results were even stronger for so-called 3D podcast ads that offer a more immersive listening experience by using spatial audio effects.
The survey of 1,800 podcast listeners from Oct. to Dec. 2021 across Acast’s established markets of the U.S., U.K., and Sweden investigated the impact of different types of podcast ads on overall campaign performance. Listeners were exposed to a podcast ad, a 3D podcast ad, or a traditional radio ad, all for the same brand, in a natural podcast setting. The results were clear.
When considering ad likability, Acast says 60% of listeners said they liked the 3D podcast ad and 51% the regular podcast ad, compared to 47% who liked the radio ad — a 28% shift in respondents liking the 3D podcast ad relative to the radio ad.
The survey also found that message clarity relative to a radio ad was twice as strong for the 3D podcast ad compared to that of a regular podcast ad.
But regular podcast ads were more effective than 3D podcast ads in influencing consumers’ first choice of brand when making a purchase — and both outperformed traditional radio in this category. In the research, 65% of listeners picked the brand that used a regular podcast ad format as their first choice of brand over competitors, and 60% for the brand that used the 3D podcast ad — compared to the 56% who chose the traditional radio ad.
“This research overwhelmingly shows that listeners are craving a more creative and tailored experience from the brands that are featured on their favorite podcasts,” said Jack Preston, Director of Acast Creative for the U.S. and U.K. “As podcast advertising has evolved from host reads to sponsored stories to branded episodes and series, it’s now time for advertisers to embrace the creative opportunities in the medium by proactively and deliberately designing ads to suit the podcast format.”
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