Why marketers should be making more noise for audio

Back in the 70s, English rock band Slade urged us to “come on feel the noise”. And it seems they were onto something as half a century on, Kiwis are going wild for audio. 

Marketers looking to make an impact with their audiences should be going wild for it too. 

Aotearoa is a nation of audio lovers and New Zealand is number one in the world for weekly podcast listenership. Those who listen, listen often, with 39 percent of Kiwi podcast listeners tuning in to more than four episodes per week*.

The shift from radio to digital audio is a significant macro trend and Stuff – as New Zealand’s biggest digital brand with a monthly audience of more than 2.8 million – is uniquely positioned to take advantage of that. 

In mid-2017 Stuff began its foray into the world of podcasts with the release of Black Hands. It was the story of the Bain family murder that divided the nation, and it captured the attention of millions of listeners. It was a global success, attracting audiences and making it into the top 1 percent of podcasts of all time. 

Since then, Stuff has gone on to produce podcasts on a fascinating array of topics including White Silence, an in-depth examination of the Erebus disaster; What’s Wrong With You? exploring how disabled people live in a world that’s not designed for them, and Once A Panther which saw the Polynesian Panthers share their story in their own words.

In 2022 Stuff’s The Commune, a 12-part podcast documentary on the notorious Centrepoint community, won Podcast of the Year at the NZ Podcast Awards. It spent weeks at the top of the podcast charts, eventually being named as the only NZ-produced title in a handful of Apple’s best podcast recommendations from across Australasia for 2022. It’s clocked up more than a million listens, and counting. 

A year ago Stuff hired Nadia Tolich as Chief Audio Officer and launched its dedicated audio offering with the vision of building a world-class audio division with a wide and varied audience. 

With more than two decades of experience in broadcast media, Tolich has produced some of the biggest names and shows in New Zealand and Australia. She has quickly built up a talented team that creates inspiring and thought-provoking audio content. 

The team includes journalists, producers, editors and content creators as well as commercial representatives to ensure it is financially sustainable for the business.

The team prioritises original perspectives and telling stories in interesting and engaging ways, in contrast to many podcasts which are packaged up radio replays. In the past 12 months, the team has produced three seasons of Simon Bridges’ Generally Famous show, where each week Simon speaks to a generally famous – but always interesting guest; The Podium, which covers sports news – but not as you know it; True Story, a series of sometimes quirky and sometimes surprising Kiwi stories; The Long Read which takes the best of Stuff’s trusted, long-form feature writing and delivers it in a convenient weekly podcast format; Jo vs Cancer about a Kiwi woman whose life was turned upside down after a stage 4 cancer diagnosis; and Stuff Explained, which demystifies the complicated and makes news more accessible. 

And now Stuff is upping the ante with a new daily podcast called Newsable sponsored by BNZ. It focuses on the news and issues worth talking about in Aotearoa and around the globe. Hosted by Emile Donovan and Imogen Wells, Newsable is a fresh way to get up to speed on the day’s big stories. It includes original content alongside the best of Stuff journalism, along with feature interviews and analysis from reporters and experts. 

Stuff audio content has hit more than 12 million downloads – and growing – since that first podcast just over five years ago. That’s particularly impressive considering it’s all locally produced, original products – not replayed or repackaged content.

Tolich is quick to point out that while an audience of that size is impressive, where podcasts really shine is in the engagement they have with audiences. The average Stuff podcast is 30 minutes long and with completion rates as high as 90 percent (meaning that nine out of 10 listeners who start a podcast listen right through to the end), they’re clearly capturing the attention of listeners. 

One obvious benefit is that you can listen almost anywhere – at home, while driving, walking, on public transport, at work, and exercising. People are listening to podcasts to learn new things (74 percent), be entertained (71 percent) and stay up to date with the latest topics (60 percent)*. 

Perhaps it’s that flexibility and accessibility that’s helping to attract younger audiences. According to Edison’s The Infinite Dial NZ 2022 research, 54 percent of 16 to 34-year-olds have listened to a podcast in the last month. And those who listen, listen often. 

Tolich says audio presents a real opportunity for brands looking to increase their profile and engage with customers in a way other marketing channels simply cannot. Stuff Audio has already attracted the eyes and ears of some impressive businesses that have signed on as podcast partners. These have included the likes of Trade Depot, Oppo, Disney and BNZ.

“We work with sponsors and presenters to produce host-read audio credits and customised mid-show segments,” says Tolich. “This sort of audio delivers trust and recall. We know that podcast listeners trust podcast ads more than other forms of media advertising.”

Research from the Sounds Profitable Survey 2022 shows 81 percent of listeners trust host-read recommendations and podcast listeners have an 80 percent recall of advertiser brands. What’s more, 30 percent of listeners considered buying or made purchases of a brand or product after hearing podcast ads. 

“There’s a real opportunity in audio for savvy marketers and brands,” says Tolich. “We’ve already been in the enviable position of having multiple brand offers to sponsor our products. And that demand is only set to grow.”

 If you’re interested in partnering with Stuff Audio on an upcoming project or series, contact Stuff Commercial Director Tyson Jemmett tyson.jemmett@stuff.co.nz. Check out all of Stuff’s podcasts in one place at www.stuff.co.nz/podcasts.

*Edison The Infinite Dial NZ 2022

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