Podcast listeners crave personalized ads: AMA survey

A recent survey by AMA, a leader in creative and personalization for digital audio advertising, sheds light on listener preferences in the booming podcast industry. The study of over 1,000 US consumers reveals several key takeaways:

Social media is king for podcast discovery: YouTube reigns supreme (61%), followed by Facebook (46%) and Instagram (43%) as platforms for finding new podcasts.

Listeners want personalized ads: A whopping 80% of respondents prefer ads relevant to their interests, with nearly 20% seeking highly personalized experiences. This trend underscores the growing demand for dynamic creative that tailors ads to individual listeners.

Pre-recorded ads take the lead: Contrary to the belief that host-read ads are king, 38% of listeners favour pre-recorded ads. Host-read sponsorships garnered 31% preference, while branded content came in at 31%.

Ad placement matters: Listeners have preferences for ad placement as well. 42% prefer pre-roll ads at the beginning, followed by mid-roll (33%) and post-roll (25%). Relevance drives action: Ad relevance is key! 42% of respondents find podcast ads relevant (15% very, 27% somewhat), and a portion of these listeners have even made purchases based on those ads.

Dynamic creative combats Ad fatigue: With a third of listeners tuning in regularly, repetitive ads can lead to fatigue. AMA's dynamic creative technology combats this by delivering fresh ad content to each listener, ensuring continued engagement.

"Listeners aren't just open to personalized ads," says Steve Dunlop, AMA Founder and CEO, "they prefer them." This shift towards targeted advertising opens doors for major advertisers and marks a new chapter in the podcast advertising landscape.