Is Podcast Advertising a ‘Not-So-Much-Explored’ Content Format for Indian Advertisers?
A platform with an increasing audience base has huge potential, of course, but does that mean, it can become advertisers’ favorite too?
Decrypting meaning from the words without trawling your eyes in the fit of pique, takes us back to the days when millions of Indians sat fixated, during the Golden Age of Radio — listening to entertaining yet believable content. As radio gave way to television, television to cable, and cable finally to the internet, it shouldn’t strike as an unexpected turn of events to the marketers to understand how the technological advancements have made a mechanism for podcasts listening, a growing new habit of people in the country. Even though podcasts is an old phenomenon, it is certainly gaining momentum in India because of increasing digital penetration, the rise of regional and other content forms, cheaper internet rates, and of course learning how to best utilize the ‘beyond the control’ long commuting hours.
Rise of Podcast Listeners in India
There are quite a number of podcasts in India that invaded the spectrum with some amazing content belonging to different genres, gaining traction from a various group of the audience; The Inspiring Talk by Bijay Gautam, Cyrus Says by Cyrus Broacha, Indian Startup Show by Neil Patel, and many more in the list of famous podcasts.
Speaking on the current scenario of the podcast in India, Amit Doshi, Founder, IVM Podcasts, says, “Podcasts have been growing at a phenomenal rate – we are seeing a monthly growth of over 10-25% every month. In the last 30 months, we have seen that our traffic has grown over 25X. The amount of fan interaction we are seeing is growing every day, from engagement as well as a size perspective.”
Sanjay Mehta, Joint CEO, Mirum India, speaks, “Podcast has been here since many years now and I am an avid podcast listener as well from around a decade almost. But it’s in recent days that I see a lot of consumers around me talking about it. So, there is an increasing acceptance of it as an alternate form of content consumption and it’s only becoming bigger with time. Indeed, right now is the actual time when people are embracing podcast much more. The simple reason for such content consumption is that you can listen to the podcast while remaining engaged with other activities. In that sense, it’s a good use of time when you are doing something else and still consuming good content, which makes it a great development.”
Raveena Udasi Mathew, Group Head – Paid Media, Performics.Resultrix puts her point saying, “It is no hidden fact that audio is also one of the strongest and effective mediums when it comes to building brand associations. The two key advantages of digital audio over other mediums are low data consumption and ease of accessibility. However, Podcast advertising is still at its very nascent stage in India compared to other markets. But with the way Indian Internet users have been growing, listeners to podcasts are definitely on the rise.”
Are Advertisers Inclining?
In the content cluttered world, will podcast be able to create its own play to attract listeners and ultimately advertisers? This is a question tagging along with the future of podcasts in India. “Honestly, podcast makes for a very interesting advertising opportunity because generally speaking, unlike when you are in front of a screen, either watching a video or reading a text, you skip the ad. However, when listening to an audio content, it’s not easy to skip over an audio message which comes in between the actual content. In that sense, the registration of that content is much better or much more than other content. It’s a great place for advertisers I must say. The only thing is if we can find a podcast with a good user or subscriber base then it would be a good place for advertising. The overall podcast scene is growing, but there are few where you can connect or advertise and put your brand depth. I think it’s slowly emerging but otherwise, if it gets the attention, it’s an amazing medium. I believe that advertisers would find it attractive,” adds Mehta.
“It’s a new format with ad formats that are non-traditional, so it has been slow going in terms of getting buy-ins so far. Having said that, there are a number of forward-thinking brands who we are actively engaged with and the number who we are talking about doing things with is growing quickly as well. The model under which we function is fundamentally different. We limit the amount of advertising in a show much more so than radio does. We believe memorability is one of the key advantages of podcast advertising and want to ensure any brands who work with us stand out and are not part of a larger clutter.,” Doshi responds.
Adding further Mathew speaks, “Personally, I believe it is best for marketers to leverage the already established digital radio platforms for podcasts to bring out their brand’s messaging through effective storytelling either by integrating with existing content or creating stand-alone branded content. There are a couple of benefits; it is an atypical form of advertising which is relatively clutter-free, can be targeted to a specifically defined audience and above all it helps drive strong brand recalls. With some of our recent campaigns, the only challenge we have faced with putting out a Podcast is with its tracking and measurability. Having said that; if brands exploit the potential of Podcasts early, they will benefit in due course.”
Where does the Future of Podcasting Lie?
The industry experts are agreeing to the strength of the medium, however, its newness to the Indian market and acceptance is what taking time for it to become an established medium to attract advertisers.
Saurabh Gupta, Director, Marketing & Sales, Vanesa Care Pvt Ltd, shares, “The acceptance and adoption rate of podcasts in India has been much lower than it should have been. The scenario will see a radical shift in the coming future. Podcast listenership will be driven in India at the back of Increased internet penetration and the growing availability of content, especially regional adaptation. Podcasts will take off when brands see their business increase because of investing in the medium. It is yet to be considered anywhere near to mainstream media and that is where the opportunity lies. Future of Podcast advertising holds substantial potential. For advertisers, the product can be explained in detail to a readily available base of loyal followers, the time is less and space is clutter free as against the saturated video space.
Sumanto Chattopadhyay, 82.5 Communications, Ogilvy Group opines, “With data-enabled mobile phones reaching more palms all over India, the rise of regional audio content is imperative. We are looking at regional superstars emerging in the audio world just like there are YouTube superstars in the video world. These will be storytellers, talk specialists, singers, stand up comics, and specialists in spaces we can’t think of now.”
Roshan Abbas, Managing Director, Encompass Events, says, “Currently, podcasting is the David in the room fighting the Goliath of Radio. But as audiences move audio to a choice of when I want, what I want where I want podcasts will increase. The commute is an audio medium abroad and our visual overload is making us choose audio. Brands still don’t get it as they’re looking at numbers and that’s still far. But if Spotify can buy Gimlet, India isn’t far behind.”
Conclusion
We cannot ignore the rise of smart speakers are making a quiet yet powerful threshold for an audio format like podcast. “It’s a very good platform for advertising as long as it doesn’t become like radio where you see more ads than content. In fact, it can be a very interesting native form of advertising. You will see its rise within a year itself,” Mehta explains. Also, Doshi enunciates, how podcast is the right kind of format for brands. “There is no better way to promote products and services than podcasts. Let’s be clear, it’s not for every brand, but if you’re looking to talk to an audience that is affluent, urban, and evolved, there is no better medium,” he concludes.