Amazon was Australia’s top podcast advertiser in Q2 2023, according to a new report by ARN’s iHeartRadio Australia and Magellan AI.
The report lists the top 15 brands that are advertising on podcasts in the region per quarter. Data used to create the list is gathered via artificial intelligence-based technology which analyses thousands of episodes across more than 400 of Australia’s most popular podcasts.
Additionally, the report highlighted that podcast advertising in Australia grew in Q2 as more brands invested in the medium, going up by 64% year on year, which is 21% higher than the previous quarter.
“Podcasts are Australia’s fastest growing mass medium with brands utilising its soaring engagement to connect with audiences in a more intimate and engaging way,” said ARN head of digital audio Corey Layton. “The surge in Australian podcast advertising spending by 64% underscores a compelling shift towards a medium that’s as diverse as it is impactful.”
As Amazon went up to first place this quarter, fast-food company McDonald’s was pushed down to second place. Prior to Q1 2023, Amazon was the number one podcast advertiser in Australia for both Q3 and Q4 2022.
The only other brands to have stayed on the list this quarter are telecommunications company Vodafone and gambling company Flutter Entertainment, although both have gone down in ranking, falling from seventh to 12th place and 10th to 13th place, respectively.
With Q2 being the peak period for summer and travel holidays, a number of the top podcast advertisers that were added to the list included ones that specialise in those areas, such as travel agent company Flight Centre, foreign exchange company Wise, and health insurance company Bupa.
In comparison to the US podcast market, the top brand advertising in the region as of June 2023 was mental health platform BetterHelp, followed by Amazon - according to data from Magellan AI on the top 15 advertisers in the US.
Additionally, Q2 saw an uplift in investment across all podcast genres with the biggest categories being Comedy, which is up by 127%, followed by true crime up by 116%, News up by 49%, and Society & Culture up by 48%. This is in contrast to the last quarter, which saw a bigger increase in investment across other categories like Technology and Education.
