Podcasts Won’t Be a “Hidden Gem” for Long

In media, we’re constantly hounded by reps whose stations are always “leading” in one thing or another. It could be for men ages 18-34 who still sleep with their teddy bears, or women ages 25-54 who only wear red belts.

Yes, it can get that specific.

The flavor of the week is Over the Top (OTT) media, which we covered topic in an earlier blog this year. Suffice it to say, you should get used to the phrase. The way we consume content will include more and more OTT in the future.

Although OTT is an extremely important piece of the growing media landscape and MGH has been including it in buys for some time now, listening to radio reps try to sell it continues to be a fascinating experience. Some struggled, as they tried to prove that they could offer more value. But, the thing that stood out in most presentations wasn’t even OTT — it was the value of podcasts.

Podcast popularity isn’t new. Folks across the nation knew the little quirks to the Mailchimp (Mail-kimp?) read on the first season of Serial like the back of their hand. Based on statistics from Nielsen and Edison, 49 percent of active podcast listeners fall between the ages of 25-44 and are well-educated. They’re listening to an average of seven shows per-week — a 40 percent increase since 2017.

Podcasting revenue increased 50 percent during the first six months of 2018 from the same time period a year earlier. Total revenue is expected to grow nearly 300 percent to $659 million in 2020.

Stations are offering plenty of local and national podcast opportunities, including sponsorships and pre, mid and post-roll audio ads. Costs are based on a cost-per-thousand (CPM) metric for those clients who provide a spot, and a fee for those who don’t. National podcasts can include live reads, host endorsements, custom segments, live events and social media promotions.

So, were those OTT presentations worth it? Of course! With the importance of staying up-to-date on the hot advertising medium of the moment aside, there were a few podcasting gems hidden within those pages that could be a consideration for some of our clients.

And the best part about it was that the reps weren’t trying to convince me.