The world of podcasting has grown exponentially over the last few years, and continues to build momentum coming out of an unpredictable year. In fact, podcast advertising is expected to grow as much in the next two years as it did in the past decade.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released the fourth annual Podcast Advertising Revenue Report prepared by PWC and sponsored in part by Market Enginuity. According to the report, 2020 U.S. Podcast advertising revenues rose to $842M — a 19% increase over 2019. The study predicts podcast ad revenue to exceed $1 billion in 2021 and will be a $2 billion industry by 2023.
Ad buyer interest and investment grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with audience size and content offered. Naturally, new technologies have been developed simultaneously to serve these marketplaces, making podcast advertising more dynamic and measurable than ever before.
Here are some key findings from the study and why they matter when thinking about adding PRX podcasts to your marketing mix.
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News continued to be the top content genre for podcast advertisers (22% market share), and emerging genres like Science and Health & Fitness grew. PRX works with storytellers and journalists who are making an impact on news programs like Reveal, The Takeaway, and The World. These shows offer the opportunity to buy at scale with over 90 podcasts across genres or to support newcomers like Radiotopia’s The Stoop. PRX emphasizes the importance of funding and uplifting diverse, emerging voices and advertisers are seeing the value in engaging more with this type of content.
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Half of podcast ads were still up to 30 seconds in length. This reflects the steady effectiveness of podcast messaging’s concise format. Additionally, the shift to dynamically-inserted ads reflects the need for messaging agility. Our advertisers see success with 30 second ads because the customized messages are delivered by trusted voices and well-known hosts that reach one of the largest and most loyal audiences in the industry. Listeners know when they hear a sponsor supporting a PRX show they love – there’s an expectation of authenticity.
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Share has shifted from direct response to branding campaigns. Podcasting has already proved to be an effective channel for Direct-To-Consumer brands and well-established brands are noticing the consumer trust and engagement that come with the podcast audience. Smart marketers who choose to support the mission-driven podcasts from PRX will benefit from the mutual affinity between their creators and listeners.
To learn more, download and view the report here.
The Market Enginuity Podcast Group is the dedicated sponsorship sales team for PRX – one of the world’s largest podcast networks. Reach out to the Market Enginuity podcast team today to discuss how your brand can benefit from podcast advertising.
