Ad blockers are being used more and more, filtering advertisements out of Web pages and mobile devices. In fact, iOS 9 has recently allowed consumers to add an ad blocker app to block all mobile ads. And the trend is growing. With a large percentage of content being consumed on mobile devices, this seems like it could be disastrous for advertisers who might find access to consumers stymied. Yet the good news is that ad blocking doesn’t affect podcasting: Podcasting is the safe mobile advertising.
This is an opportunity for shows and advertisers.
Podcast advertising allows companies to directly target audiences who listen to or view a program. The ads are embedded and 100 percent targeted by content type and content creator, plus the listener has purposefully chosen to listen or watch the content.
This comes at a time when advertisers have begun to understand the benefits of broadening their horizons and not focusing only on the larger shows. While the larger shows are great for reaching a big audience, consumers will at most hear the vendor’s ad once a week. If advertisers buy wide, including smaller, highly targeted shows, they will reach the same or larger scope of audience — targeted and engaged consumers — with ad spots being spread out among many shows.
Nick Quah, Hot Pod Newsletter, hotpodnewsletter@gmail.com, said it well. “Technological intervention is a function of audio technology not being all that advanced (or existent) just yet, which should conceivably be the draw for forward-thinking advertisers looking to define the space,” he writes. “It’s fertile new ground that they can themselves shape; it’s literally what we talk about when we refer to something as ‘the Wild West.’”
Podcasters, you need to make sure your shows are advertising-ready. Take a look on Blubrry at what makes a show ready for advertising and see if your show is a good fit for what we have to offer. Advertisers, we have literally thousands of shows for you to pick from to go-wide and reach the audience you may be missing now.
Podcast advertising is in for an exciting ride and we’re looking forward to having more and more of you come along.