IAB – Edison Research Podcast Advertising Study 2016
By Edison Research
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) today released the “IAB-Edison Research Podcast Advertising Study,” a survey of nearly 1000 podcast listeners conducted in partnership with Edison Research, which finds that nearly two-thirds (65%) of fans are more willing to consider purchasing products and services they learn about during a podcast. Sixty percent also state that, given equal price and quality, they prefer to buy products from companies that advertise on their favorite podcasts.
The study shows that listeners prefer sponsorship messages and host mentions of products and services to pre-recorded advertisements during podcasts, emphasizing the advertising opportunity created by the personal relationship between podcast hosts and their audiences.
Podcast listeners often take action in direct response to hearing a sponsorship message or advertisement during a favorite podcast, including:
Visiting a sponsor’s web site (45%)
Considering a new product or service (42%)
Gathering more information about a product or company (37%)
The ability to listen to programs “whenever” they want was cited as a leading value proposition for podcast fans, with 76 percent saying that factor is of great importance. Other highly rated benefits were noted, such as:
The ability to listen to programs “wherever” they want (71% – very important)
The ability to listen on-demand (70% – very important)
The ability to listen to content that is unavailable on other platforms (58% – very important)
“Podcast audiences are devoted fans whose enthusiasm carries over to the companies that sponsor their favorite shows,” said Anna Bager, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Mobile and Video, IAB. “That ‘halo-effect’ is impressive. It is no surprise that more and more brands are including podcast strategies as part of their marketing mix.”
“These results quantify for the medium what we’ve seen in much of our client work,” noted Tom Webster, Vice President of Strategy, Edison Research. “Podcast listeners not only don’t reject advertising in the medium, they are actually very receptive to the right message, delivered in the right environment.”
The “IAB-Edison Research Podcast Advertising Study” is the result of an online survey of 953 Americans, ages 18+, who indicated that they “currently ever listen to podcasts.” The data were weighted and balanced to approximate the podcast audience using nationally representative figures from The Infinite Dial 2016 survey from Edison Research and Triton Digital.
About Edison Research
Edison Research conducts survey research and provides strategic information to a broad array of clients, including Activision, AMC Theatres, Disney, Dolby Laboratories, Google, Gulf News, the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau, Pandora, Samsung, Siemens, Sony, Time Warner and Yahoo. Edison Research works with many of the largest American radio ownership groups, including Bonneville, Emmis, Entercom, CBS Radio and Radio One. Another specialty for Edison is its work for media companies throughout the world, conducting research in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Edison Research is the sole provider of election exit poll data for the National Election Pool comprised of ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC and the Associated Press. Edison is also the leading provider of consumer exit polling and has conducted face-to-face research in almost every imaginable venue.
About IAB
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. It is comprised of more than 650 leading media and technology companies that are responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital advertising or marketing campaigns. Together, they account for 86 percent of online advertising in the United States. Working with its member companies, the IAB develops technical standards and best practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising, while also educating brands, agencies, and the wider business community on the importance of digital marketing. The organization is committed to professional development and elevating the knowledge, skills, expertise, and diversity of the workforce across the industry. Through the work of its public policy office in Washington, D.C., the IAB advocates for its members and promotes the value of the interactive advertising industry to legislators and policymakers. There are licensed IABs in 43 nations around the world and one regional IAB in Europe. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City and has a West Coast office in San Francisco.
