A new study from independent podcast company Acast has revealed that over 90% of frequent podcast listeners in North America have taken action after listening to a podcast advertisement.
The stat breaks down into 95% of podcast listeners based in the US and 88% in Canada. In comparison, 97% of those US podcast listeners who answered that they frequently listen to ads also take action, while 91% in Canada do the same.
The two reports that the data is based on – ‘Podcast Advertising: Delivering Full Funnel Effectiveness’ in the US and ‘Fun for Advertisers Across the Funnel’ in Canada – have been created with consumer research platform Attest and interviewed nearly 1,200 frequent podcast listeners aged 18-64 based in North America.
“With a tightened media budget this year, buyers need to be putting their dollars into the attention economy if they want to see any kind of return on their investments,” said Acast US director of sales and brand partnerships, Christiana Brenton. “Podcasts have the most highly engaged audiences of any medium out there, making them the most dominant force in the attention economy.
“This new Acast research is key for advertisers to understand the purchase behaviours of these highly valuable podcast audiences across North America.”
Actions that the study respondents in North America have taken after listening to a podcast are mostly looking at the advertisers’ website (around 64%) and looking at the advertisers’ social media (55%), while only 44% have made a purchase from the advertiser.
Brand loyalty is also an important aspect of podcast advertising, with an average of four out of five of respondents in the US agreeing that listening to ads is a way for them to support their favourite podcasters, while 66% of Canadians said the same.
Additionally, more than 80% of the US study’s respondents and nearly 70% of Canada’s respondents said that they go beyond the podcast they’re listening to by either following them on social media or discussing what they’ve listened to with friends and family.
“The podcast advertising industry is continuing to experience growth as media buyers better recognise the effectiveness of the medium for their brand message,” said Acast Canada managing director Heather Gordon. “Understanding the unique relationship between podcast audiences and the content they consume through research and insights like this is vital to the success of advertisers in the space.”
The Canadian study follows Acast’s continued investment into the Canadian podcast market with the announcement of a new comedy podcast titled Phone a Friend, featuring television personality Jessi Cruickshank as the host. The podcast will launch later this week on 9 February.
