• by Aaron Baar , September 7, 2016

After sponsoring “Serial,” there are presumably many more people using MailChimp these days. 

According to a study from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Edison Research, consumers are highly likely to purchase from podcast sponsors. According to the survey of 1,000 podcast listeners, nearly two-thirds (65%) of them were more willing to consider purchasing products and services they learned about during a podcast. Sixty percent added that given equal price and quality, they prefer to purchase from companies that advertise on their favorite podcasts. 

“The audience is young and active,” Larry Rosin, president of Edison Research of Somerville, N.J., says of the audience connection to sponsors. “They are on their phones and consuming media on their own time. But most of all, they are incredibly loyal to their shows and the hosts of those shows. As a result, they tell us they want to support the companies that advertise on their favorite shows.”

According to the data, sponsorship messages and host mentions of products and services were preferable to traditional, pre-recorded advertising (likely because of the personal connection listeners have to podcast hosts). Upon hearing a sponsorship message, 45% of consumers said they had the sponsor’s Web site, 42% said they considered a new product or service and 37% said they were looking for more information about a sponsor. Some of that may be thanks to an increased connection between subject matter and the advertising sponsor, Rosin says.

“Our research shows that podcast consumers do see a connection,” he tells Marketing Daily. “They seem to have a sense that the products or services being advertised do target them more so than advertising in general.”

Podcasting has become an increasingly popular medium for reaching consumers. According to Edison’s previous 2016 Infinite Dial research, 21% of consumers said they listened to podcasts monthly (up from 17% in 2015), and 13% said they listened to them weekly (up from 13%).

According to the IAB survey, consumers like the ability to listen to podcasts whenever (76%) and wherever (71%) they want. They also like the ability to listen on-demand and get content that isn’t available on other platforms.