Podcast campaigns deliver an average return on adspend of $2.42, according to a study that covered over 530 efforts from more than 230 brands.

Podsights, a New York-based attribution company, undertook the Podcast Conversions Benchmark Report – as presented at the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) Podcast Upfront – that spanned the period from October 2018 to July 2020.

And its research featured 532 campaigns run by 232 brands. These efforts generated two billion impressions and logged a total of $28 million in advertising spend. (For more, read WARC’s in-depth report: Insights from over 530 campaigns determine impact of podcast advertising.)

The study drew on household-level impression data matched with pixel data, as well as device information, bespoke URLs and discount codes, all of which helped it to prove out return on investment.

And when it comes to payback from podcast advertising, the study found that advertisers had yielded over $34.3 million in revenue – with Podsights calculating a net return on adspend standing at $2.42.

Paul Riismandel, senior director/marketing and insights at podcast ad network Midroll Media – and one of several executives to present the study findings – offered a deeper insight.

“Some of the verticals that podcasts really perform for – that deliver a lot of return – are healthy living, insurance, and meal delivery,” Riismandel said. 

“And what that all adds up to … is that podcast ads can work for your brand and impact real revenue that we can measure.”

The variety of available podcasts is almost endless, which can make it difficult for marketers to identify the ideal venues for their messaging.

But diversifying also has benefits, as households that were exposed to ads across multiple different podcasts and publishers converted 2.4 times more often than those who heard ads on one or two podcasts.

Marshall Williams, chief executive of audio-focused agency Ad Results Media, argued such insights can help marketers prove out the value of podcast ads in new ways.

The Houston, Texas-based shop has worked on podcast campaigns for advertisers like brewer Molson Coors, shaving brand Harry’s, meal-kit service Blue Apron and The New Yorker magazine.

“It was always a challenge to track [results],” Williams said. “Vanity URLs and discount codes didn’t give us as good a read as we would have liked. We needed something better.”

Sourced from WARC