Radio Advertising Versus Podcast Advertising
| Traditional Radio Advertising | Podcast Advertising | |
| What's the difference between a podcast and radio show? | A radio show is broadcasted via the air waves using radio frequency. Most radio shows only reach the geographical area they serve, but large syndicated shows are aired on multiple stations across the country. | A podcast is a show made available on the internet for streaming or downloading to a mobile phone, computer, or device. Podcasts are typically available as a series and listened episodically (by episode). |
| Where does one listen? | In their car, exercising, walking the dog, making dinner, doing chores, at work. | Most listen to podcasts in their cars/commutes to work, during exercising, walking the dog, making dinner, doing chores, and sometimes during work. |
| What audio device do they use? | Car stereos, home stereos, boomboxes and personal radios. | Majority listen from their smartphone (iPhone or Android) and some listen from their computer. |
| What type of ad spots can I order? | Most radio ads are sold as a :10, :30, or :60 spot. | Most podcast ads are sold as a :30, or :60 second spot. |
| Ad spot placement? | Ads are sold according to dayparts. Typically, a station's daypart lineup will look something like the following: 6am-10am, 10am-3pm, 3pm-7pm, and 7pm- midnight.Drive times, or morning and evenings when people are commuting, are usually the most popular times of day and also when each station has the most listeners. The "rates", or what the station charges the advertiser, will reflect that. | Ads are sold on podcasts that target the type of audience the advertiser wishes to reach. For instance; an advertiser selling baseball sporting equipment would want to find podcasts niched around baseball. Most ad spots are sold per episode and placed during the beginning (pre-roll), middle (mid-roll), or at the end (post-roll) of a podcast episode. |
| Are the ads host-read or produced spots? | Can be. Depends on many factors including the quality of the ad, the promotional offer, time the ad is aired, and how many times the ad is aired. | Yes! They are read by the host of the show who is perceived to the listener as a trusted source or influencer. So the ad comes off very natural, authentic, and compelling. And because most podcast ads are read by the shows host, the ad content is very engaging. Listeners don't skip ads, because they don't want to miss out on any part of the show. Fans often cite ad reads as some of their favorite moments. By comparison, when an ad comes on the radio,listeners jab at the preset button to change stations. Podcast listeners are opt-in; they intend to listen to the whole show. |
| Ad Spot Saturation/Dilution | We all know that radio ads go on forever! Sometimes you may hear 8-10 ads played back-to-back during one segment. This creates an over saturated ratio of ads to show content. Radio Show Example; 10 :30 second ads per 30 minutes of content = ad/content ratio of 5/30min or 1/6min. |
A typical podcast episode runs for 20-60 minutes. And most podcasts will only air 1-2 ad spots per episode. This creates a very low ad content to show content ratio -- Podcast Example; 2 :60 second ads per 60 minutes of content = ad/content ratio of 2/60min or 1/30min. |
| Audience Reach | The reach of a radio show depends on how populous the area is they are broadcasting too. Most radio shows have capabilities to reach millions of listeners. | Most podcast shows that sell advertising reach an audience of 5,000 to 100,000 listeners per episode. Some have a reach over 1MM. |
| Listener Engagement | Radio shows can be engaging, but most cover general topics including politics, sports, and finance. You won't find niched shows that meets one's precise interests. | Podcast listeners are extremely engaged listeners as they choose the shows they listen too. Podcast shows fall in every niche and category imaginable, so you're sure to find shows that align within your interests. |
| Show Format and Length | Radio shows are usually broadcasted daily Mon-Fri. Most are aired during the morning commute and last 1-4 hours in length. | Podcasts are episodic (produced in episodes) and usually air one new episode per week. Most shows run from 20 minutes to one hour. |
| Targeting Capabilities | Radio is very good for reaching an audience within a certain geographical area. Most radio shows/stations also have demographic data readily available. | You can easily target audiences with specific interests because of the different niche shows available. You can further target audiences by certain demographics. This data is provided by podcast hosting companies and hosts surveying their audience. Because podcasts are downloaded/streamed from the internet, most have a national/world-wide reach. |
| CPM Rates (Cost per Thousand Listeners) | You can expect a CPM rate that is between $12-16 CPM for adults between 18-49. This rate decreases to around $8-$12CPM for adults over the age of 50. These estimates are reasonable for daytime spots. If you are looking to advertise in the evening or overnight, you can expect rates to be lower. Source | Industry average rates for podcast advertising falls between $18-$25 CPM. CPM rates we are seeing on our platform vary by podcast audience size. |
| Ad Spot Costs | Ad spot costs vary once again by how large the listening market. For instance an ad in LA/NY can run $4,000 to $8000, while an ad in Myrtle Beach will run $500 to $1500. Source | Depending on the shows popularity and audience size, most spots sell between $20 and $500 each. |
| Tracking ROI | Radio advertisers that want to track the performance of their ads can do so by having a promo code and/or unique URL/phone number mentioned in their pre-recorded advertisement. Most radio advertising run brand awareness ads that are looking to increase their overall company awareness within the community. | Podcast advertisers that want to track the performance of their ads can do so by having the show's host mention a promo code and/or unique landing page URL. This is called direct response marketing. |
| Regulations | FCC Regulated. | Not FCC Regulated, but follows industry best practices. |
| Available Inventory | Because the nature of radio shows airing live, they have a limited supply of ad space to sell. Get in touch with your local radio station(s) in regards to radio advertising. | Most advertisers like advertising on established shows that have a listenership in excess of 1,000 listeners. But this doesn't mean smaller listenership shows wouldn't bring value. With this said, there are now over 400,000 podcasts listed on iTunes and we now represent ad inventory for over 1,000 shows. Visit our marketplace or contact us to work with a podcast ad buying specialist today. |