With marketers and agencies scrambling to deliver content, not just advertising, many are increasingly turning to podcasting. Giving consumers control over when they choose to listen neatly fits the concept that the customer, not the brand, is in control. Personally, I think it’s an interesting medium, one that we’ve barely scratched the surface of. However, the following research does cast a somewhat sobering light on the subject, at least for mass marketers.
From Adweek:
A Forrester Research consumer poll found that 25 percent of online consumers expressed interest in podcasts, citing the ability to listen to programming on their own schedule. Just 1 percent of households, however, said they regularly listened to podcasts and only 2 percent had sampled them.
The Cambridge, Mass.-based firm surveyed 5,000 Internet users.
It found podcast listeners are currently a small group, more likely to be young, male and tech savvy.
Despite the low adoption rate, Forrester sees podcasting growing quickly, predicting 12 million households will regularly listen to the media delivery system by 2010.
Marketing spending on social media – including blogs, podcasts, and RSS feeds – is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 106.1 percent from 2005 to 2010, reaching $757.0 million in 2010, according to Media Daily News.
