Australian media agencies are just warming to podcasts, but are they ready for voice marketing?
IAB Australia’s new report finds that podcast advertising has tripled in the last year, while only 13% of media agencies are preparing voice strategies.
New research from IAB Australia shows that media agencies are regularly buying podcast advertising almost three times more than a year ago (5% to 14%). This year promises further interest in the platform, with 62% of agencies saying they intend to purchase live-read podcast advertising within the next 12 months.
“With the explosion of podcasting at both content and consumer levels, I expect to see more brands stepping in,” says CEO of IAB Australia Vijay Solanki. “With 13.6 million Australians streaming audio content on their digital device in December 2017, it follows that the buying community is continuing to increase investment in streaming ad opportunities.”
According to IAB’s data, 51% of agencies are using podcast advertising for increased brand awareness, 27% for increased engagement and 13% to support specific promotions. Nearly half (48%) of media agencies have advertised through podcasting for their clients in the past, however only 1% of agencies consider it a significant part of buying activity.
Within podcast advertising purchasing options, IAB found that most firms using podcast advertising purchase pre/post roll credits, at 19% overall. Additionally, 50% of all agencies surveyed say they intend to purchase pre/post roll credits within the next 12 months.
However, while brands continue to engage with podcast marketing, only 13% of agencies are working on voice marketing strategies, and over half have no plans to implement the technology in 2018 at all.
Australia is significantly behind in regard to the availability and use of voice-assistant technology, with big players such as Amazon’s Echo and Apple’s Homepod still very new to the market. However, according to a study conducted by Accenture, 23% of Australians are projected to own a digital home assistant by the end of 2018.
“While marketers are reviewing their opportunities in this space carefully, media agencies need to quickly assess their role and approach to voice marketing on behalf of their clients,” says Gai Le Roy IAB Australia director of research.
Australian media agencies are just warming to podcasts, but are they ready for voice marketing?