The popularity of podcasts has soared since the pandemic. Statista reports that there were 19.1m podcast listeners in the UK in 2021 – a dramatic rise from 8.9m in 2017. As audience numbers continue to climb, publishers and advertisers are seeing powerful opportunities for engagement through the medium. But to effectively target audiences through audio — you need to know who you are speaking to, and who you are speaking through.
The main hurdle facing brands is the sheer number of podcasts that consumers can choose from. Recent reports suggest that there are more than 2 million active podcasts — with Marketing Week predicting that podcasts are going to grow by 20% in the UK — making it the biggest growing channel in 2022.
Brands have the opportunity to take advantage of this mass change in consumer behaviour. But how do they do it?
