The 2022 Podcast Ad Checklist
This year, resolve to master podcast advertising.
Photo by: Avelino Calvar Martinez
We hate to kick off this post with bad news, but podcast advertising is about to get harder in 2022.
That’s right, the ‘niche’ podcast industry is officially big business now. One billion dollars in advertising revenue, exclusive deals, premium subscriptions, and increased consolidation means more competition and rising rates.
But this doesn’t mean you should run for the hills. Now is the time to lean into what makes this medium highly coveted. There’s a lot of noise out there, so here’s how podcast advertisers can stand out in 2022 while fitting into the current role advertising plays in the medium and respecting the consumer experience.
☐ A podcast-ready brand story.
Podcast listeners tune in because they want to hear a great story or learn more about a topic they’re interested in. When they press play on their favorite show, they’re really invested.
Research from Signal Hill found that 81% of podcast listeners pay close attention to what they hear, compared to 62% who pay attention when reading a social media post. Since you have the audience’s attention, this is a great opportunity to create a teachable moment and make them say, “Wow, I learned something new today.”
Of course, the best way to pique the podcast listener’s attention is via the host-read endorsement. Let the host speak for themselves about why they think your brand is the perfect fit for their listeners. More on that next.
☐ Prepare the host for success.
You have the story down, now it’s time to give the host everything they need for ads they want to read and audiences want to hear.
To ensure success, that means comprehensive creative complete with talking points, a call to action, and a unique promo code (if needed). Always make sure you’ve provided the host with your product or service in advance, so they can speak authentically to their use and experience with it. Talking points should include the name of the product, a few key benefits, and some wiggle room for the host to make it their own.
FYI, host reads may still dominate podcast advertising but programmatic and announcer-read ads are on the rise. Get to know tools that are out there for testing non-host read ad creative with controlled exposure surveys to make sure it resonates with audiences.
☐ Line up brand-suitable content.
Speaking of striking the right tone with listeners, the term ‘brand suitability’ will be everywhere in 2022. Though podcasting scores high in the trust department overall, DoubleVerify found that 55% of consumers will be negatively impacted by seeing a brand advertised next to misleading or low-quality content.
Every brand will have its own threshold for what content is considered appropriate, but high-quality content will always win, regardless of how big the audience is. There are many roads to buying podcast ads — from direct to programmatic-style platforms — but at the end of the day, know who your partners are and where your ads are running.
☐ Go beyond goals and start tracking.
Having a clear campaign goal will set your podcast advertising journey off in the right direction; but can that goal be measured? The good news is there are more ways to measure success beyond promo codes, whether that means enabling pixel attribution or commissioning a brand lift study. More data means better-informed campaigns, and ultimately, success for your brand.
In fact, 1 out of every 3 of the campaigns we executed in 2021 included some form of pixel attribution. If pixel attribution isn’t part of your existing strategy yet, both podcast-first and multi-touch pixel providers are stepping in with solutions that provide insight into consumer behavior at multiple points in the funnel. Hosting platform Megaphone accepts over 20 different pixels alone.
Even privacy-minded brands don’t need to fear the pixel. Moving into a cookieless world, digital advertisers are facing how to do more with less. Podcast attribution — never relying on third-party cookies or mobile device IDs — is not only ahead of the game, but is serving as an example for other digital advertising channels.
☐ Extra credit.
Team up with the right partners. Experience, combined with the right tools and the right connections, will make your dollars go further.