Are Podcast Ads Worth It? Two Political Media Buyers Weigh in

Podcasts are emerging as a new frontier in political advertising as major digital audio platforms have begun pitching media buyers on their reach and influence among voters.

Not all buyers are sold on the idea.

It’s not that podcasts aren’t useful, said Eric Harpootian, vice president at Republican media planning agency Strategic Media Services. But the greater value comes from podcast appearances, rather than advertising, he said. In other words, in the digital audio space, earned media is king.

“One thing on the podcast front is I’m always pushing campaigns to try to get their candidate on the podcast, not as much advertise on the podcast,” Eric Harpootian told Campaigns & Elections during an online election briefing last week. The whole reason why listeners tune in is to hear whatever subject or…whatever guest appearance is gonna be on that podcast.” 

In terms of the broader audio space, Harpootian said, radio remains a great way to reach specific audiences. Those audiences can be smaller, he said. But they can still be reached “very effectively” through traditional radio. 

“In the digital audio world, not to sound old school, but also the terrestrial radio and metro radio, non-metro radio – we kind of view that as almost a sniper rifle,” Harpootian said.

Still, podcasting has become something of a buzzword in the political world over the past couple of years, as strategists have pushed candidates to ramp up podcast appearances and ambitious politicians have raced to launch their own shows.

And as a medium, their reach is undeniable. According to Pew Research Center data, more than half of Americans – 54 percent – say that they’ve listened to a podcast in the past 12-month period. And younger Americans are even more likely to tune in, with 67 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds saying they’ve listened to a podcast in the past year.

Veteran Democratic media buyer John Paul Padua, vice president of media buying at Trilogy Interactive, pointed to YouTube as the stronger platform for political advertising, noting during last week’s election briefing that a lot of podcasters publish video of their shows on the streaming website anyway. 

But he didn’t dismiss the usefulness of advertising on podcasts. For one, Padua said, media buying on podcasts has become easier in recent years, as the digital audio space has consolidated around a few big platforms, like Spotify and SiriusXM. 

There’s also another reality that campaigns have to acknowledge, Padua said: Not every candidate has the right style or widespread notoriety that appearing on podcasts often demands. In that sense, paid media remains an effective way to reach certain audiences.

“As far as being able to get your candidate onto a podcast – I’d love to work with James Talarico every single time and have him appear on Joe Rogan,” Padua said, referring to the media-savvy Democratic Senate nominee in Texas. “But the trouble is not everyone has the same level of interest or talent level that can go on a Joe Rogan.”

“That’s why I do like paid, because I think it’s a great equalizer. Money is the equalizer,” he added. “It allows you to platform and I think that’s where, at least on the podcast side of things, things are in a little bit more of a healthier space than they were even just a couple years ago.”