Audio ad opportunity Niche targeting unlocks attention

20,000 foot view:  Podcast advertising is one of the key income sources for both audio platforms and creators alike. Ad agencies and platforms must go ever deeper with targeting capabilities by learning more about the other entertainment habits of audio consumers. Social media offers an opportunity to not only learn about audio listeners, but to also provide a space to capitalise on grassroots promotion techniques to promote audio content

Key insights 

• Ad relevance            particularly important to podcast listeners,            they are least likely to            relevant ads            compared to audiobook                       and average consumers           
           of podcast listeners skip audio ads on podcasts compared to            for audiobook listeners, despite the latter paying the highest attention to audio ads           
• Listeners of            podcast genres, like history            are            engaged with relevant ads compared            those who listen to mainstream           
• Drama and            crime listeners pay more attention            audio ads than online ads                       respectively), but            of true crime            skip podcast ads, the highest            all genre segments
• The most            listeners are typically also the            likely to skip audio ads,            vice versa. For example, listeners            comedy and news have low            ad attention            but they are            likely to skip audio ads                       respectively)
• Spotify weekly            users (WAU) rank lower in            ad attention            than Apple            and            Music Free            WAUs, and a            skip podcast ads 
• Around a            of podcast listeners            and audiobook                       engage on social media compared                       of all consumers 
• Audio listeners            by five percentage points in            on social media           
• Audio listeners            more than twice as likely            use online communities, like Discord            Reddit, compared to all consumers 
• Niche audiences            bring more effective advertising opportunities            opposed to mainstream listeners

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Amazon, Apple, Audible, Call Her Daddy Clubhouse, Discord, Disney+, Facebook, Facebook Live, Google, HBO, Julia Fox, Lemonada Media, Netflix, Patreon, Reddit, Spotify, Spotify Greenroom, TikTok, Twitter, Twitter Spaces, Tumblr, YouTube