As it’s International Podcast Day, we asked industry voices whether podcast advertising is rated highly enough in the media mix…

Think about the last podcast you were properly absorbed in. You probably weren't scrolling or half-watching something else. You were walking, driving or doing the dishes, listening to a voice you'd chosen to spend time with.

That kind of attention is what advertisers say they want, and it's why podcasts keep growing. Ofcom reports that 27% of UK adults now listen weekly, up from 23% a year ago and shows have spread well beyond audio into video and social. Yet the budgets don't always follow. Are podcasts still too often treated as a branding extra rather than a core part of the wider marketing plan, despite the opportunity they offer brands to more personal connections with audiences?

For International Podcast Day, we asked industry voices whether podcast advertising is rated highly enough in the media mix…

What the industry thinks…

Podcasting has never been more powerful for brands. It is no longer a single format but a multi-format ecosystem, blending audio and video, consumed throughout the day, at different moments, across a growing range of connected devices: smartphones, smart speakers, connected TVs, cars. Brands can now accompany listeners all day long.

Its real strength is the conversation. Podcasts have revived long-form, intimate dialogue, and audiences give it attention few media can match. For brands, that makes it a remarkable space for expression, still preserved from the advertising pressure saturating other channels. A message lands in a trusted environment, not a cluttered feed.

Is it rated highly enough in the media mix? Not yet. Too many advertisers still treat it as a branding add-on. Measured properly, podcast advertising drives real business outcomes. That is the promise of Performance Audio, and why podcast now deserves a core line in every media plan.

Geoffrey Fossier, Global Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Audion

Podcast advertising has something many channels would kill for: attention with intimacy.

Podcasts tap into fandoms, passions, and communities that people actively choose to spend time with. There’s a certain sanctity to that relationship. You’re entering a space listeners value, often when they’re highly engaged and without another screen competing.

Podcasts aren't valued highly enough in the mix, yet. But as we get better at understanding and measuring the real-world outcomes podcast advertising can deliver, that should change. We need to look beyond reach and recognise the quality of the attention, context, and connection too.

There is a word of warning. Creative has to earn its place. If it feels generic, irrelevant or jarring, you quickly become the annoying interruption in someone’s favourite content. Get it right, and podcasts offer brands that rare combination of relevance, attention, connection, and measurable impact that not all channels can deliver.

Roxanne Harley, VP of Strategy & Growth, Azerion

Podcast advertising’s strength lies in intimacy and listener trust, but audio has historically been held back by friction in direct-sold execution. Because of this operational overhead, it is still underrated and under-allocated in the global media mix. That dynamic is rapidly changing through modern ad tech and automation. AI-driven contextual targeting and dynamic insertion have solved precision and brand safety. 

Crucially, the rise of white-label self-serve platforms empowers audio publishers to democratise their ad inventory - opening premium podcast real estate to mid-market and direct-to-consumer advertisers without inflating operational costs. By pairing AI-powered relevance with frictionless, automated self-serve buying, publishers can maximise yield while giving brands of all sizes direct access to leaned-in audio audiences. Podcast advertising is evolving from a fragmented branding experiment into a scalable, accessible performance engine.

Johan Liljelund, CIO & Executive VP, Dan Ads

Podcasts are one of audio's biggest growth drivers: Ofcom reports that 27% of UK adults now listen weekly, up from 23% a year ago. And as podcasts expand across audio, video, and social, hosts are becoming influential media personalities in their own right.

Yet podcast advertising hasn't evolved at the same pace. Host reads remain highly desirable because they feel native and trusted, but they're expensive, slow to produce, and difficult to scale across the long tail of podcast content.

That's where the opportunity lies. As podcast buying becomes more intelligent and addressable, with increasingly sophisticated episodic and contextual targeting, the creative needs to follow. Dropping generic radio copy into such an engaged environment wastes it.

It's time to think beyond the host read and deliver scalable, contextually intelligent advertising that feels native to the podcast experience. Audiences deserve creative as relevant as the content they chose.

Silke Zetzsche, VP, Global Commerical Partnership, Agency & Ad Tech, AudioStack

Podcast audiences are often actively seeking information, entertainment or expert opinions, putting them in a consideration mindset where they are more open to relevant brand messaging. The rise of video podcasts has strengthened this even further. Many shows have built loyal, habitual audiences, with new episodes increasingly becoming appointment viewing in the same way audiences once anticipated weekly TV programmes. This creates highly engaged environments that deliver both cut-through and incremental reach. For advertisers, podcasts offer a powerful combination of trusted content, attentive audiences and omnichannel activation opportunities that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.

Podcast advertising is probably not high enough in the media mix. Despite delivering highly engaged audiences, podcasts often receive a smaller share of media budgets than their attention levels would suggest. Historically, measurement and attribution challenges have held the channel back. However, advances in attribution and identity are changing that perception. Advertisers can increasingly understand the role podcasts play across the customer journey and connect exposure to broader campaign outcomes. When you combine these newer measurement techniques with audiences who are often actively researching, learning or considering topics of interest, podcasts become especially valuable. The combination of a consideration-driven audience and improved attribution creates a rare opportunity to deliver both meaningful engagement and measurable business impact, making podcasts one of the most undervalued channels in the modern media mix.

William Jones, Senior Director, Advanced TV & Omnichannel Activation, Adform