Podcast Advertising’s Advanced Targeting Connects Brands with Highly Engaged Senior Executives Through 91% Brand Safe Content, Podchaser Study Finds

New study reveals valuable insights for podcasts popular with senior executives, including:

• Nearly 94% also cater to a wider audience of Millennials
• More than a quarter fall under the Business category
• Podcasts popular with senior executives have a broader reach of more than 28 million

May 16, 2024 – Podchaser, the podcast industry’s intelligence engine, today released a report that finds podcasts enable advertisers to reach an audience of highly engaged senior executives through content that is 91% brand safe. By exploring podcasts popular with senior executives, which include titles like Prof G, Pivot, This Week in Startups, Homing In, and Fore Play, among others, Podchaser was also able to determine the most suitable content and advertising categories for contextually relevant brand storytelling.

This is significant because, according to Signal Hill, more than four out of five (83%) of senior executives have listened to a podcast in the past week, compared to just 66% of other monthly listeners. Now, with Podchaser’s insights, advertisers can connect with this demographic of high earners through podcast conversations that align with their brand values and allow them to form relevant connections with audiences.

Historically, major brands have under invested in podcast advertising due to concerns of brand safety or have missed their intended audiences by only buying the top trending shows. In fact, according to Ad Age and Magellan, only 14 of the top 100 advertisers in the US invested more than $10 million in podcasting last year, which accounted for less than 0.3% of overall spend from these brands. Additionally, separate research from Podchaser Pro and Magellan found that 44% of US podcast advertising spend goes to the top 500 shows, which only account for 12% of reach.

“Podcasts are an undeniably effective channel for advertisers to reach the right audience for their brand message. Today’s report not only proves that podcast advertisers can reach the high earning senior executive audience through brand safe content, but also that with the right ad tech solutions they can reach them in the most contextually relevant moments,” said Podchaser CEO Bradley Davis.

According to Podchaser’s report, podcasts popular with senior executives also reach a combined audience of more than 28 million predominantly young males. In fact, this massive audience is 84% male and 93.5% fall in the Millennial age bracket. This means that these podcasts present a strong opportunity for brands to connect with a large audience of young males while also reaching the high earning senior executive demographic.

The report also found that, among senior executives Business (26.6%), Tech (13.7%), and News (12.3%) podcasts are the most popular. Additionally, when combining categories and considering consumption habits, Podcaser discovered valuable advertising opportunities for media buyers. 

Specifically, Podchaser found that when combined, Education (7.5%) and Management (7.3%) comprises 14.8% of podcasts most popular with senior executives. This is significant when also looking at research from Signal Hill, which found that 35% of respondents cited self-improvement as an important reason they listen to podcasts. Looking at these stats together indicates an opportunity for brands in spaces like higher education or personal development to reach these audiences. 

Similarly, when combining the Heath (6.9%) and Fitness (6.6%) categories, it makes up 13.5% of podcasts popular with senior executives. According to Signal Hill, 51% of respondents said they listen to podcasts while working out or exercising. These findings together demonstrate an opportunity for health and wellness brands to create relevant connections with these listeners.

Podchaser also found that the topics covered on podcasts that are popular with senior executives are wide-ranging. Taking the lead for popular topics is News (28%), Tech (22%), and Software (19.8). This is closely trailed by Family, Friends, and Relationships (15.5%) as well as Restaurants, Food, and Grocery (14.2%). 
Click here to download the full report.