By Michelle Lomas, chief strategy officer, Ampel
It’s that time of the year again when the audio industry stops everything to hear what the latest on the Infinite Dial 2023 Australia report by Edison Research says about how we are engaging with and adopting audio. The latest Infinite Dial 2023 Australian Report came out yesterday, and there are some surprising results, some not so surprising results, and plenty to love.
I’m no ChatGPT, so not only have I summarised the data, I can also share some insight into why it matters. And for the time poor folks out there, I’ve saved you the hassle and pulled the key points I think you need to know today if you want to work with audio, or currently work in it.
Before we start it’s important to know the Infinite Dial report is conducted on a sample size of 1,576 nationally, via interviews. So, you could say it’s not the most robust report around regarding listenership numbers. But what it might lack in numbers, it makes up for in spades by reporting on our listening behaviour and habits. For any audio and content strategists, the report is a gold mine for audio activity.
Australians Lead the Way in Audio Listenership
This was the report’s headline this year, and wowsers, they aren’t wrong. We love our audio. And as a country that loves to be the best at ‘stuff’, we nailed this one. 81% of Aussies are listening to online audio monthly, with 74% weekly. So, while other channels pivot and flounder, audio’s ability to adapt to listener demand is working.
This is a huge stat for a number of reasons, one obviously is the unrivalled opportunity to tap into the various forms of audio to reach Australian’s.
But the other one which excited me the most is the insight that we are really leaning into audio listening – in all its forms. We’ve made it a habit, something we do daily. Maybe it’s on our way to work, in the car or at the gym (yeah, those bros who do 10 deadlifts and then sit on their phone for 15 minutes are listening to a podcast). So, if we are tapped into ‘listening’, what about listening to the CEO’s annual letter in audio form on the way to work, or listening each morning to a new training module about DE&I? The opportunities are enormous.
Worth noting as well this listenership is universal across ages. Yep, the kids love a bit of radio too, and you’ll see a little later just how much I’m excited by this for podcasts.
Also worth a mention is that even with our podcasts, we love our catch-up radio, with 27% of Aussies using podcasts to catch up on their fave radio programs. Now personally, I could think of nothing worse than choosing to listen to Kyle & Jackie O in my spare time, but the masses have spoken – they love good banter.
YouTube is Massive for Podcast Listenership
Well, lookie here…there is a new player in town. You might say YouTube are a little late to the party though, considering that they only launched their podcast product a few months ago.
At Ampel, at the risk of sounding arrogant, we knew this. Some of our podcasts generate 50% or more incremental listens on YouTube than the other players combined. So, it was no surprise (to us) when this came out, but what did surprise us is how many people are watching the video. We always assumed that most were minimising the video and just listening to audio, but it seems there are some out there watching too. Probably the ones like my Dad who still maintains he doesn’t listen to podcasts but saw this ‘great bloke’ on YouTube the other day.
As a company that produces podcasts, these insights are so valuable. We had a lot of guesswork based on the data we could see, so having this now proven really reinforces our need for a stronger YouTube strategy for placement and promotion.
The Big Kids are Loving Podcasts
There was a great study by Spotify that came out last year which highlighted the importance of podcasts in Gen Z’s life. The results were quite astounding. Gen Z were leaning into podcasts when they had a problem, before they spoke to their friends and family. That’s right, when they had a problem that needed to be solved and they needed advice they were looking for the answer on (according to this report) Spotify. Wild.
So of course, we are seeing numbers that are astoundingly clear and should be a hint to any good marketer or media buyer – maybe you need to look a little more closely at podcasts. With 70% of this audience listening to podcasts a month and 54% weekly, seems like a fair statement to me. For those lamenting the same old song – why are Gen Z so hard to reach? They are so fickle! Well, here it is, they aren’t. You just might not be looking in the right places.
Podcast Listening is Up, But We Are Listening A Little Less
Is that contradictory? Sort of but not really.
The good news is that our love affair with podcasts continues to grow. Yeah, we aren’t seeing the explosive growth that we did during Covid, but that type of perfect storm will (hopefully) not be repeated in this lifetime. What is positive is the continued positive trajectory of listenership.
What’s changed, though is that we are listening slightly less a week. Last Infinite Dial report saw us listening to six episodes a week on average; now it’s five. Doesn’t seem a huge jump, but for the strategist in me this is part of a bigger prediction I have; as the market starts to mature and the hype downs down, listeners will be more discerning about what they listen to and why. Podcast listenership will shift from listening to the first thing on their feed to thoughtful decisions around the type of content they want to hear – and increasingly, that will include more utility-based content in health, business, education etc.
For the brand or creator looking at this Infinite Dial data and going ‘why does it matter to me’? Well, it matters because your competition for attention just increased, so you need to create something people want to listen to. Don’t just ‘dive in’. Be thoughtful, know your audience, and make sure you are building something purpose-built for their needs. Maybe you need a strategy? I know a podcast strategist who might be free.
Worth noting at Ampel we create sonic branding, podcasts, radio and podcast ads, so my main takeaways might differ from yours as I seek new insights to connect with audiences and drive impact. I’m sure the big audio networks have a lot more to say on the audience sizes, but for me – well I love that our audience is embracing audio, and would love to see more brands do the same.
See Also: Ampel launches brand refresh, supported by AI-driven content production technology
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Top Image: Michelle Lomas