IAB releases its first ‘Podcast Playbook’ guide for marketers

The podcast has taken another step toward becoming just another marketing channel, with the release this week of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)’s first buyer’s guide for podcast advertising.

The free “Podcast Playbook: A Guide for Marketers” offers guidance on audience demographics, listener behaviors, creative, ad formats, delivery, targeting and measurement.

It is intended, in part, as pre-conference reading for the third annual IAB Podcast Upfront next month. Last spring, IAB released a Podcast Revenue Study, which showed that podcast ad revenues will jump 85 percent this year over 2016, from $220 million to $119 million.

IAB also published its second Digital Audio Buyers’ Guide in November of last year, which covered digital audio from streaming music to podcasts. A draft 2.0 version of IAB Podcast Measurement Guidelines, which are not included in this new Playbook, were released for comment last month.

Although still in its infancy, podcasting is clearly growing into a channel with enviable ad specs. Twenty-four percent of the US population over the age of 12 listens to podcasts each month, with an average subscription of six podcasts weekly.

The Guide notes that two-thirds of podcast listeners have high brand recall, and about the same percentage said ads in podcasts led them to buy a product. Users typically listen while commuting, working out at the gym, traveling or doing chores, so their attention is relatively focused.

About 85 percent of podcast listening is done on mobile devices like smartphones. Since the mobile device screen is usually not looked at, IAB SVP and GM Anna Bager pointed out to me via email, there are no viewability issues.

From the IAB report

Ads can be hard-recorded as part of the podcast, or dynamically inserted through an ad server when the podcast file is requested, so they can be targeted by such criteria as content, daypart or geography.

For direct response advertisers, effectiveness is measured by ad-related offer codes, special URLs or special phone numbers. For brand advertisers, measurement methods include recall and lift studies, tracking of social media mentions and correlating overall growth.

[Article on MarTech Today.]

About The Author

Barry Levine

Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.