With budding on-demand lifestyles, it may not sound surprising that podcasts have become the darlings of the audio realm—for consumers, content creators and now, advertisers

The wellspring of podcasts has grown into a rising sea, as there were more than 1.7 million titles available for audio-hungry listeners to choose from at the
start of this year

The audience has maxed out on visual media but thankfully over last 10 years podcasts have become an extremely appealing advertising platform. With a strong listener engagement, brands are now looking to podcasts as a more personalized way to connect with audiences

A podcast host drives stronger brand recall punch than more traditional forms
of advertisements. Nielsen’s podcast effectiveness studies have found that host-read ads drive a brand recall rate of 71%, which subsequently creates high levels of consumer interest

The ad dollars being directed toward podcasts continues to rise each year, with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) forecasting that ad spend will eclipse $1 billion this year.

Some in the industry may argue that advertising with most popular podcasts will be an ideal way to engage audiences . But as we move away from cookies and towards actual people, smart brands will look to engage with the "right consumers" with a well-tailored message, rather than casting a wider net and hoping for prized catch

Growth in podcast listeners in U.S. in 10 years has been dramatic. A similar pattern is seen in audience diversity as well. The US is now seeing non-White podcast audiences growing faster than White audiences