5 podcast advertising trends for 2022

Long ignored, not to say boycotted, podcast advertising attracted little interest from advertisers. 

The problem? Audio content wasn't (yet) optimized for marketing performance. 

Except that, as Mc Solaar used to say, times change... 

And the podcast sector is now attracting advertisers in droves.

Is it the arrival of major streaming players such as Spotify, Pandora or Google Podcast that has revived the game? Or is it something else? 

Whatever the reason, the audio sector is on the move, and is likely to be even more so in the coming year. 

Here's a rundown of our predictions for the podcast advertising industry in 2022.

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Podcast ads will become easier to produce and place

It's true that the popularity of the podcast has attracted advertisers, but it's not the only factor...

Let me explain. 

Even though the audience of podcast-loving listeners is growing worldwide, and particularly in France, advertisers were facing technical problems...

This is no longer the case, as barriers to entry have been considerably reduced! 

Today, it's much easier for an advertiser to advertise on a podcast than it was 5 years ago. 

In the old days, an advertiser would have had to search for podcasts relevant to their brand, contact the podcast hosts, negotiate rates... What a drag!

This can be explained by the proliferation of podcast advertising platforms, which are all trying to make their mark, such as :

• Gumball,
• Midroll,
• Podcorn,
• AdvertiseCast.

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Spotify, for example, offers a free tool specially dedicated to podcast advertising through its Spotify Advertising program.

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Trend No. 2: Digital measurement tools gain in importance

In the old days, when podcasting was just a niche sector, made up of a few podcasters who were fans of old-fashioned audio and microphones... Measurement was virtually impossible. 

To tell the truth, she wasn't a priority either. 

Podcasters focused on content, material and guests.

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On the measurement side, it was sausage fair time with : 

• Independent tools here and there,
• Unreliable traditional methods,
• Almost no automation...

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The popularity of audio content is now attracting the attention of advertisers... 

Except that they want to see : 

• Traceable data,
• Curves that show an evolution,
• Return on investment.

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The arrival of players like Spotify, Apple Podcast and Google Podcast is now changing the game. 

And, little by little, we are seeing the emergence of new measurement tools that make it possible to : 

• Quantify podcast episode engagement,
• Evaluate the conversion of listeners into customers,
• Automatically translate a podcast.

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It's a revolution because it allows advertisers to : 

• Manage their budget, 
• Allocate their spending to the right podcast (or episode),
• Select the right ad positioning moment (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll) 

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Trend No. 3: Listeners will hear more podcast advertising

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In terms of advertising pollution, podcasts are an "ecological medium"!

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Yes, I know, it doesn't mean a thing.

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Let me explain: if you look at social networks, you get : 

• An ad every 3 stories on Instagram,
• Two ads on a Youtube video,
• Streaming ads on Facebook...

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And if not coughing, this advertising pollution is annoying, irritating and disturbing.

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As a result, the level of tolerance to advertising on these media is low. 

In the audio sector, the opposite is true! Podcasts are not polluted (yet). 

As a result, we're confident that by 2022, increased advertising on this medium won't affect its popularity. 

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Trend No. 4: More transparency in podcast advertising

As a Facebook user, you can quickly find out why you've been targeted by an ad. 

But this kind of transparency doesn't happen overnight. 

On the contrary, Facebook has often had to be rapped on the knuckles before implementing this type of functionality. 

In the podcast industry, we're slowly getting there. 

So, if advertisers are pushing on one side to get more data on listener behavior. 

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Using tactics such as : 

• Add a tracked URL to the ad, 
• Identify listeners via their IP address, 
• Obtain listener behavior information via analytics.

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On the other hand, listeners are fighting back and intend to make their voices heard. 

Yes, because platforms will not be able to escape this concern for transparency. And auditors will soon be demanding accountability. 

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The example of the Overcast platform 

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Such is the case with the Overcast platform, which in a recent update offered this kind of service to its listeners.

Now it's just a few clicks away for a listener to find out which services podcasts use to : 

• Tracking their listening 
• Offer them advertising.

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Trends n°5 - The advent of programmed podcast advertising

In the history of podcasting, programmatic advertising has very often been limited. 

Technologically too complicated to implement at the time, advertisers preferred to give up.

For the more adventurous, almost everything had to be created manually for : 

• Find relevant podcasts,
• Contact the appropriate podcasters, 
• Ask for investments,
• Define investments,
• Negotiate rates, 
• Ensure implementation.

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But that was before.

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Now that programmatic technology has developed, there are also advertising markets for podcasts:

• Gumball, 
• Midroll, 
• Podcorn,
• AdvertiseCast.

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Now, an entire, exclusive catalog of podcasts can be purchased programmatically with audience targeting, content and brand security.

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As a result, spending on programmatic podcast advertising is expected to reach $106.5 million by 2022. 

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What about you? What do you see in 2022 that could change the podcast advertising industry?