Driving Consideration & Conversions through podcast advertising
Last updated 14.06.25
At Earmax we firmly believe the podcast medium should be used solely for driving consideration and conversions, with fantastic creative reaching the right audiences.
Yet still, mid-way through 2025 we hear frequent examples of rubbish creative and lazy media buying that are simple extensions of a wider marketing campaign, where the sole aim appears to be cheap reach.
Books like Byron Sharp’s ‘How Brand’s Grow’ and other renowned marketing books talk about maintaining excessive share of voice and brand repetition being enough for brand’s like McDonald’s to stay on top.
But if you’re a disrupter or you don’t have mammoth budgets then the podcast medium is where you can beat your competitors with smart, creative advertising strategies.
Even if you are the conglomerate, why not put in the extra effort and use the channel to drive conversions, in addition to the billboards and TV ads that do the rest?
Here’s why.
Podcast audiences are more engaged than any other medium
If you’re a podcast listener you’ll know that podcasts are a bit like reading a book. If you day dream for a couple of minutes you have to flick back a few pages and re-read what you just skimmed over.
Podcasts are exactly the same. If you look at the drama unfolding at the other end of your train carriage on your way to work, you will need to hit the re-wind button to catch up on what you just passively heard.
Another parallel to books is that you are fully immersed in what you’re reading, to the point you are actively watching a story unfold in your head, creating mental images for characters or visualising yourself acting on the advice from a self-development book.
Again, it’s exactly the same for podcasts. Think about a good documentary series or True Crime pod.
In fact, 92% of people who listen to podcasts say they are engaged while listening, more than any other media channel.
However there is one monumental difference between podcasts and books.
Books are not free to consume, and you cannot seamlessly integrate an advert into the middle of someone’s favourite novel.
Active attention vs passive attention
Building on the previous comparison to reading a book. We can do the same for literally any other kind of media and find that podcast audiences are far more engaged.
If you’re listening to TV and an ad comes on you go and make a cup of tea or go to the loo.
If you’re watching YouTube it’s obviously an ad and you skip.
If you’re on TVC you go on your phone until you hear the ad break is over.
If you’re listening to radio it’s often background noise.
But podcasts are content that is actively sought out where the listener is 100% engaged and feels a strong affiliation to their favourite host.
There are of course exceptions to ads being skipped and that is when the creative is exceptional or you see a famous person you like.
Well this is the same for podcasts, and it’s our firm belief that it’s here you have the best chance of actually getting your target audience to act.
The importance of landing a great creative in the right place
You can have the best media plan in the world, but if your host-read ads are poorly written or the pre-recorded ads are poorly produced, you’re going to get ignored or skipped.
With podcasts it doesn’t always have to be obvious it’s an ad at all and the best audio ads are those that feel part of the show you’re listening to.
Ideally you’ll invest in multiple creatives and variations in the host reads that allow you to increase the frequency without the audience getting bored or annoyed.
We’ve proved this in campaigns such as ANZ and Explore Worldwide where we now have over 7 creatives playing in even rotation across each campaign and where we’ve proved that the higher the frequency, the higher the conversions.
Summary
Podcast listeners are receptive to ads.
71% of podcast listeners are willing to learn more about the brands that advertise on podcasts, 73% of people feel a connection to the host they listen to and 53% say they trust their brand recommendations.
So don’t waste this opportunity by measuring success on cheap CPMs and maximising impressions if you don’t know where those impressions are ending up.
Invest budget in your creatives and time in your media plan, then see the difference in the results.