Last updated June 27, 2024 – 12:38 pm
With the general election approaching, Acast has launched a campaign to show the vital role news podcasts play in shaping public debate and informing voters.
Since the election was announced, unique listeners to politically focused podcasts have increased by 53%, according to data from Acast and Podchaser.
In an age of widespread misinformation, trusted publishers can help keep listeners informed through podcasts, delivering news from consistently fact-checked investigative teams and offering a range of perspectives on the key issues and candidates shaping the upcoming general election.
It’s more important than ever for advertisers to support these important voices through sponsorship opportunities, and they create value by partnering with publisher brands.
Using a multi-channel approach, Acast launched an outdoor advertising campaign across major train stations to ensure the power of podcasts was exposed to millions of commuters every day.
The “Acast Recommends” feature is also used as a guide to the most insightful and influential political podcasts.
Running across the Acast network, Acast-produced ads are targeted to listeners of similar podcasts – podcasts with common demographics and audiences – allowing all listeners, regardless of political leanings, to set politics aside and tune in to what matters.
Alexandra Fuller, head of publishing at Acast UK, said: “Podcasts have become a vital source of news and analysis, conveying depth and nuance that traditional media can't capture. With the general election approaching, podcasts have provided a platform for voices on all sides of the political landscape, helping to educate and engage voters.”
According to Acast's data on 125,000 podcasts, peak listening time for podcasts is 8am during commute hours.
Acast ran adverts for key news and political podcasts as visual reminders in an outdoor campaign in train stations across the country.
Campaign podcasts include The Guardian's Today In Focus, TortoiseNews, The Telegraph's The Daily T, New Statesman's Election Watch: The New Statesman Podcast, The Evening Standard's The Standard, The Times' How to Win an Election and the FT's Political Fix.
