Podcast-Werbung und die Bewerbung von Podcasts: Chancen und Herausforderungen

Abstract

Podcasts have become a popular medium in recent years and are continuously gaining in popularity, both as a source of information and as an advertising medium. Their special characteristic of generating a comparatively high attention span among listeners makes them a promising channel for promoting content. At the same time, the podcast itself is increasingly becoming a product that needs to generate attention. While the academic literature to date has primarily focused on editorial aspects of podcasts or the effectiveness of advertising, there is a lack of well-founded findings on the targeted promotion of podcasts and specific opportunities for advertising within this format. This research gap forms the starting point for this bachelor’s thesis. The aim of this bachelor’s thesis is to present both the established advertising formats within podcasts and the possibilities for advertising podcasts. It also aims to highlight the associated opportunities, challenges, and practical recommendations. The work is based on an explorative literature review and a qualitative study in the form of guided interviews with experts from the podcast industry. Chapter 1 introduces the topic and describes the problem, objectives and methodology of the thesis. Chapter 2 explains basic theoretical concepts, including the definition, development and types of podcasts. Chapter 3 is dedicated to advertising opportunities in and for podcasts. Chapter 4 deals with the qualitative study and presents the results of the interviews conducted. Chapter 5 concludes by summarizing the opportunities, challenges and specific recommendations. The results of this bachelor thesis show that host-read ads are primarily used in practice, as they are perceived as particularly authentic and less disruptive due to the personal approach of the host. Sponsorship and classic audio advertising are also used, with all three placements being used pre-, mid-, and post-roll. However, only a few experts surveyed place ads in their podcasts. The high level of listener attention harbors great potential for effective advertising messages. At the same time, it is clear that the podcast market is highly saturated, as there are many podcasts, which emphasizes the need for clear thematic differentiation. Social media is primarily used to promote one’s own podcasts, whereby the choice of channels depends heavily on the content of the respective podcast. Other channels such as ads in other podcasts or print media are also used but are evaluated differently.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Harald Kindermann (Supervisor)