Checking In On The Super Podcast Listener

How to keep their listening experience 100 in 2022.

It’s time to check in with podcasting’s VIPs.

Since 2019, Edison Research has tracked the attitudes and behaviors of the weekly listener who consumes five or more hours of podcasts a week—aptly dubbed the Super Listener.

This is an important study for the entire podcast industry to pay attention to, but especially brands. Super Listeners listen A LOT—an average of eleven hours of content a week to be exact. That also implies they are exposed to more ads than the casual fan.

While they are voracious content consumers, Super Listeners actively seek out ways to limit their exposure to ads. They flock to streaming services and music subscriptions, making them hard to reach via traditional means. But there’s one place where ads are appreciated. 50% of Super Listeners tell us that podcast ads are the best way to get their attention.

At the same time, 59% of Super Listeners sensed an increase in the number of ads heard in their favorite podcasts in 2021, compared to 56% a year ago. Recent data from both the Podsights and Magellan AI benchmark reports also point to increased frequency and rising ad loads.

So how do we preserve the ad environment in a way that keeps this group (and therefore all podcast listeners) engaged? In this post we’re going to break down a few of the lessons from study and the best practices that are not only good for the advertiser…they’re good for the listener too!

Capture every listen.

When it comes to delivering podcast host reads, Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) has become the preferred method over-baked in for its flexibility, accountability, and additional capabilities. But there’s another, often overlooked, reason.

When Super Listeners find an existing podcast that’s new to them, 42% go back to start at episode one. Not all listening is current, so the back catalog is just as valuable and DAI lets brands tap into all episodes to capture every listen.

Make the host your star.

While announcer reads and programmatic are becoming more common, the host read is still a critical tool in every podcast advertiser's toolbox combining the best of word-of-mouth, native advertising, and influencer marketing.

Effective for the advertiser, host reads are also the preferred method of communication from the POV of the listener. 56% of Super Listeners have a positive opinion of personalized discussions on products or sponsors. Whether a direct endorsement or simply put into the host's words, 36% say they pay more attention when they hear directly from the host.

Greater campaign control.

Back-to-back ads, crowded brand categories, and exhausted ad copy–the listener deserves better and so does your investment. While only 22% of Super Listeners agree that there are too many ads on podcasts, that figure has doubled since 2019.

The presence of more ads means more thoughtful campaigns are needed—utilizing frequency capping, securing category exclusivity when available, and identifying less cluttered genres and ad environments. Your ad could sound great and be the perfect fit for the content, but even the best reads can fall victim to ad fatigue.

Podcasting is still relatively uncluttered compared to other marketing channels, but Super Listeners are taking note of the influx of ad dollars into podcasting. Ensuring their listening experience remains entertaining and informative will benefit the entire podcast ecosystem while allowing your messaging to shine.

Better podcast advertising is our mission. When you work with AdLarge, dynamically-inserted host reads, frequency capping, and premium ad environments come standard with every campaign. Get in touch to learn more.

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Source: Super Listeners from Edison Research and Ad Results Media, 2021