THE NEW FACET TO BROADCAST

In a world where we are looking for the NEXT BIG THING, podcast marketing is undoubtedly it. The time has come to do away with the traditional forms of media promotions as they are starting to become obsolete. Podcast marketing is dominating the industry now because it is intimate and trusting The idea of just a couple of guys sitting on a couch and having a conversation has struck so well with the millennial crowd that studies have shown that many podcast listeners do not feel podcasts are over-commercialized, creating more opportunities for advertisers. The art of segueing brand plugins into the podcast conversations makes us think the marketing is authentic and not forced, and 90% of the time, we don't mind the ads being there. This is something other forms like TV marketing or print media cannot offer; just because your favourite superstar jumps out from a helicopter drinking a soft drink does not make the product desirable towards the consumer, as the touch of relatability is lost in the middle of jumping out from the helicopter.

Due to the simplicity of listening to podcasts, listeners consume the content while performing meagre household chores or driving The BBC Storyworks study from 2019 confirmed that listening as a secondary activity reduces listener wearout and affects a higher overall engagement level. Nobody would dedicate 30 - 60 minutes of their time to a podcast unless the topic interests them, which shows the amount of niche-ness podcasts provide, which other media forms fail to bring forth This is seconded by the data provided by Edison Research Super Listeners 2021 report, which states that podcast ads are the most recalled ad types. 86% of respondents verified the same. Podcast advertising has been statistically shown to generate more than four times better brand recall in consumers than display ads This can be vouched for by each of us, as when we listen to a podcast, we are utterly engrossed in the same, which helps us recall the ads better.

Adding on the nicheness of podcasts, it's effortless for brands to focus on target groups for their products. Case in point, a brand working in the education sector can efficiently market its products in podcasts that deal with student academic pressure or Dhruv Rathee's podcasts, as his audience is primarily youngsters. The availability of this option enables brands to save crores of money on pointless mass marketing campaigns and expand their reach using a decentralised model of marketing

The Molson Coors Beverage Company case study highlights the success of how podcast marketing can uplift your brand and provide your brand with optimum reach. The four barriers they faced while rebranding was;

Modern-day consumers expect content to be on-demand Brands need to drive emotional breakthroughs in a cluttered media environment Brands do not have many opportunities to tell their story in an extended manner The fragmented media environment creates challenges in driving frequency with consumers'

Due to the podcast's opt-in nature, the emotional intensity of audio advertising, the ability of trusted talent to portray the brand story through the art of storytelling and commanding consistent listenership allowed Molson Coors to break all four barriers and take their brand to greater heights. This entire article can be summed up by one line that Kevin Welsh, Sr Marketing Manager at Molson Coors, said, "That authenticity comes across so smoothly when they're endorsing us that it almost doesn't come across as an ad. It's like a friend telling another friend why they love it."

A new marketing paradigm is on the horizon and will forever change how we look at branding. Sorry for making you pause your podcast for this 2-minute read. You can carry on.