ComScore Says People Prefer Ads in Podcasts

According to results of a new comScore study, ads within a podcast were found to be the least intrusive when compared with other types of digital ads. And not only do listeners not mind hearing them—they act on them, reports AdWeek.

The study of 2,000 U.S. respondents ages 18 to 49 found that two-thirds of listeners have acted on ads they heard in a podcast either by researching a product or service or by actually purchasing something they first heard about in an episode.

The comScore study was commissioned by Wondery, a podcast startup founded by two former Fox executives. The company, which manages seven podcasts, will launch its first Wondery-branded show later this month.

Hernan Lopez

"It confirms one of the things people find notable about advertising on podcasts," Wondery founder and CEO Hernan Lopez said. "There is a lot of direct response advertisements, but they're a special kind."

The podcast boom doesn't seem to be slowing down. The report found that one in three current podcast listeners plan to increase their podcast consumption over the next six months. The demographics of listeners should also be appealing for advertisers: Nearly one in five Americans between the ages of 18 and 49 listen to podcasts at least once a month with one in three men ages 18 to 34 also claiming to tune in. Listeners tend to have a college education, $100,000 or more in household income and describe themselves as early adopters of tech, movies and consumer packaged goods.

The study also asked respondents questions about how they felt emotionally before and after listening to podcasts. Many said they felt more "connected, intelligent and energized" after listening.