Podcast advertising
Podcast advertising spending in the U.S. has been enjoying double-digit growth and was expected to more than double between 2021 and 2025, reaching a projected value of 2.74 billion dollars in the latter year. At the same time, the share of podcasts in digital radio ad spending was projected to double between 2019 and 2024. As far as genres go, the largest slice of the podcast advertising cake was held by news, while the leading podcast advertiser in the country was mental health services portal BetterHelp.Radio advertising
The advertising revenue of OTA radio stations in the U.S. has been decreasing for almost two decades, with the overall value in 2020 being half of what it was in 2006. A decline in traditional radio ad revenue has gone hand in hand with the gradual rise of the ad revenue of its online counterpart, doubling in value in the last decade. T Mobile US is the leading radio advertiser, with Comcast and Procter & Gamble hot on its heels. Government and companies related to politics secured the top spot among the leading radio advertising industries, with retail nabbing second place and insurance and real estate clinching bronze.Digital audio advertising
Digital audio advertising spending has been on a roll, with values nearly tripling in the last five years, and more than five out of 10 U.S. marketers saying they plan to increase their programmatic audio ad spend. The ad spend of digital audio services has also been going up a steady upward path, and it is projected to account for almost 40 percent of the country’s total digital audio revenue by 2025. The digital audio streaming environment is increasingly competitive, with Swedish giant Spotify holding on to the lion’s share of subscribers as Apple, Amazon, and Google continue adding on to their own audio services.Consumer perception
Despite its decline in revenue and audience, OTA radio keeps holding a revered spot in the American collective consciousness, with almost half of listeners deeming radio ads to be trustworthy. A quarter of podcast listeners also indicated a preference for ads that sound just like the ones that can be heard on traditional radio. Speaking of podcasts, more than half of listeners said they searched online for more information on a product or service after hearing it being advertised on a podcast, while four out of 10 said they proceeded to buy an advertised product.Podcasts have the brains, radio has the reach, and streaming has the financial muscle of people willing to reach for their wallet – a powerful mix of elements that advertisers will have to set their focus on to make the most out of the increasingly effervescent waters of the American audio ocean.
