How many of us listen to a podcast? According to the Guardian, 12.5% of us (around 7.1 million people) listen to podcasts weekly, which is up 58% in the past two years. As television programming comes to standstill, podcasts are thriving throughout this lockdown period.
Alongside more Coronavirus speculation, we’ve seen how podcasts have proven to be a valuable asset to brands and how you can make them a valuable asset to your brand. Here’s our five to watch this week in digital…
Digital transformation predicted for businesses post-pandemic
Speaking out as a result of the pandemic, Martin Sorrell, the executive chairman of digital advertising and marketing company S4 Capital, has predicted that businesses will look towards a digital transformation due to the new changes in consumer and business behaviour. He believes that the ‘status quo and the comfortable economic climate has been disturbed’ which will encourage businesses to develop a digital strategy sooner than originally planned. This statement follows the changes in online behaviour through the lockdown, such as increased shopping deliveries, education resources and buying habits.
Shop through social: Facebook & Instagram introduce shops
Businesses will now be able to turn their Facebook and Instagram pages into shops with no fees, which will enable users to browse, save and order products through social media. This feature has been brought forward and extended as a result of COVID-19 to help and support businesses during these times of crisis. Brands simply need to upload their catalogue and products they want to feature, which can then be customised with a cover image and brand colours. These new stores will appear on business pages, Instagram profiles and through targeted ads.
How Zoopla re-established their marketing strategy during the pandemic
The housing market has seen a decline in transactions and is one of many struggling industries as a result of COVID-19. During this time, Zoopla reported that there were 373,000 transactions on pause, which compelled the firm to halt their major marketing activity. Zoopla had to re-evaluate their entire marketing plan to stay visible in the market and introduced a competition where they asked the public to send photos of the forts they’ve built in the lockdown, with an estate agent style caption describing them.
Podcaster Joe Rogan experiences a $100 million Spotify deal
The American comedian and mixed martial arts commentator, Joe Rogan has signed an exclusive deal with Spotify for his podcast ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, which is rumoured to be worth around $100 million USD. According to The New York Times, after the deal was agreed, Spotify added $1.7 billion USD to its market value. As of April 2019, this podcast achieved around 190 downloads a month and this exclusive deal could make Joe Rogan one of the world’s highest-paid broadcasters.
Should you invest in programmatic podcast advertising?
As we’ve seen with The Joe Rogan Experience, which has 190 downloads a month – podcasts have become immensely popular over the last few years. Advertisements are seamless in podcasts unlike other broadcasting means, where the audience may turn off or remove them from the page. Programmatic advertising in podcasts is proving to have several benefits; from geo-targeting to more in-depth demographics to the device type and context.
If you think that programmatic advertising could be beneficial to your digital strategy, get in touch with our team and we will be more than happy to help – feel free to send us an email to team@modo25.com
