What makes a good podcast ad? At last week’s virtual RAIN Global Podcast Leadership Summit, experts weighed in, illuminating one of the lesser-known benefits of podcast ads: Breathing room.
The lighter ad load of podcasts enables each ad to be truly heard and processed by listeners. Paula Mangin, owner of the ad consultancy Boyce::Mangin, said, “It’s just not stuffed with ads, there are one or two sponsors and it’s just really clean…For all those reasons it stands out in an era of fragmentation.”
A light ad load, especially when delivered conversationally by podcast hosts, makes podcast ads both believable and compelling.
According to Lisa Risk, Podcast Strategist at Strategic Media, Inc., the host-read ad is a driving factor in the success of podcast advertising. “There is a level of trust between the listener and the podcast host; it is a unique relationship not found in other advertising mediums,” said Risk. “The best podcast ads sound like a recommendation from your best friend. And they fit within the context of the show. It can be hard to pinpoint exactly where the show ends and the ad begins.”
Oftentimes, podcast hosts have the opportunity to experience the products they are advertising firsthand. Speaking about them in their own words achieves a level of authenticity that is difficult to attain in other mediums.
At Strategic Media, Inc. our podcast clients have had great results across a wide range of categories, including: art, health, finance, fitness, home, and vehicles.
“As far as our clients are concerned, what makes a good podcast ad is one that makes listeners respond,” said Bob Leonard, Director of Client Development at SMI. And with calls to action in each podcast ad to drive listeners to a website or text, the efficacy of SMI’s podcast ads is measurable.
For help connecting your brand with its target audience through podcasts, contact SMI today.