What Happened
Two weeks ago, Pandora announced a deal to stream Serial, the surprise runaway hit that propelled podcasting into the mainstream in 2014, as each episode becomes available. Now, two well-known brands have signed on as the sponsors on Pandora. Warner Bros. will sponsor the Season 1 stream and the first half of Season 2, while Esurance will advertise during the second half of Season 2. As sponsors, they will get NPR-style audio ads at the beginning and end of each episode, with a persistent banner ad displayed on screen throughout Pandora’s stream.
What Retailers Need To Do
Podcasts provide a growing opportunity for brands to effectively target a niche audience with sponsorships and native ads. The first season of Serial was sponsored by Mailchimp, a marketing newsletter service, and study showed 81% of “Serial” listeners correctly recalled its ads. Getting these two new big-name sponsors on board cements podcasting’s place in the mainstream media landscape as a burgeoning marketing channel, which brands of all types should explore.
Source: AdWeek