Podcast advertising generates up to 4.4x better brand recall than other digital ads

Nielsen studies commissioned by Midroll find blue-chip brands see significant increase in brand recall and intent to purchase after advertising on podcasts

News provided by

The E.W. Scripps Company

Dec 19, 2018, 07:30 ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Podcast advertising generates far better brand recall than other widely-used forms of digital advertising, according to findings from 11 Nielsen effectiveness studies. The Nielsen analysis was commissioned by Midroll, the advertising arm of podcast industry leader Stitcher, and represents the podcast industry's largest aggregate releases of ad effectiveness data.

In addition to the lift in brand awareness, the studies revealed that 61 percent of consumers exposed to podcast ads for well-known national brands become more likely to purchase the advertised product.

The Nielsen ad effectiveness studies tracked eight national brands advertising 11 products that spanned all major consumer categories, including soft drinks, consumer packaged goods, retail and more. The studies measured how likely listeners were to recall, purchase and recommend a brand after hearing a podcast ad for that brand or product.

Among the key aggregate findings across the 2018 studies:

Podcasts generate up to 4.4x better brand recall than display ads (scroll ads, static ads and pop-up ads) on other digital media platforms. (The comparative data for digital display ads is sourced from the Associated Press - NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in 2017.)
There was an average 10 percent lift in purchase intent among listeners exposed to a podcast ad. Sixty-one percent said they were likely to buy, compared to 56 percent of listeners who did not hear an ad.

Across specific product categories:

A national consumer packaged goods brand had a 9 percent increase in purchase intent after working with Midroll to develop and place their ads.
The same national consumer product realized 43 percent greater recall with a longer, customized version of the ad, compared to the conventional, shorter ad for the same product.
118 percent more people who heard a host-read ad for a national soft drink brand campaign said they were more likely to buy the highlighted flavor, compared to those who had not heard the ad.

While direct response advertisers were early adopters of podcast advertising, major household name brands are now benefitting from the lift they get from host-read podcast ads, said Stitcher Chief Revenue Officer Korri Kolesa.

"This shift underscores the power of podcasts to speak to a generation of consumers who tend to be hard to reach through other digital media platforms," she said. "This, coupled with what we know about messaging, allows Midroll to partner with brands to develop a highly resonant message and in turn, to work with the host to ensure it is well-integrated to reach its target audience."

Edelman, which has worked with Midroll to develop and place podcast ads, said the studies reinforce the power of podcasts for their clients.

"Midroll's third-party measurement studies powered by Nielsen helped fortify performance evaluation beyond diagnostic metrics and allowed us to quantify the value of podcast advertising as it relates to key marketing objectives," said Jack Hennessy, analytics manager at advertising agency Edelman Digital.

Read Midroll's 2018 ad effectiveness case studies here.

The studies, commissioned by Midroll, were conducted by Nielsen using an industry-accepted method for measuring the effectiveness of branded media. Each of the 11 studies consisted of various numbers of respondents with 7,100 total respondents ages 18-64 in the aggregate, who participated in online panel surveys in which they listened to a clip of a podcast episode. Half of the respondents were exposed to an advertisement in the mid-roll position of the clip, while the control group heard a clip without an ad. A post survey was then used to measure lift across key measures. The exposed and control cells for each were balanced on age and gender.

About Stitcher
Stitcher the best place to listen to, produce and monetize podcasts. The Stitcher app, available for iOS and Android devices, is one of the world's most popular podcast listening platforms, with a growing network of original content and a premium subscription service. Stitcher is the parent company of Midroll Media, the leading podcast advertising network representing over 200 of the world's largest podcasts, and top-ranked comedy podcast network Earwolf. With offices in Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco, Stitcher was founded in 2007 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP).

SOURCE The E.W. Scripps Company