The vocal revolution of podcasts

The voice is the main element of communication, one of the first things we learn to do at the beginning of our lives and of fundamental importance for narrating and telling stories. In the past, stories were used to pass down traditions and cults from generation to generation; today we have reached a more advanced and innovative level of communication, in which there is an intimate link between narrator and listener.

Today's era is characterized by the continuous lack of time, by less and less intense and short moments where the voice becomes the symbol of "slow" communication, thanks to podcasts, protagonists of the new corporate communication aimed at involving and retaining customers.

The podcast market continues to score sensational numbers abroad: l 'Interactive Advertising Bureau, or the association of reference for advertising, has estimated that revenues from adv investments on the podcast will exceed one billion dollars in 2021.

The trend is also growing in Italy. Nielsen research confirms this result and attests that in 2019 the podcast segment experienced a very important development, with 1.8 million more listeners than the previous year. Result achieved thanks to the ease of using these contents: whether you are driving, preparing lunch or dinner, training at home or in the gym, listening to an audio podcast can become more and more a habit of today's consumer, attentive to invest their time on quality content. It is also interesting to check how the average age has dropped: if at the beginning it was mainly 35-year-olds who listened to podcasts, today even the very young appreciate the original content, that is, those designed exclusively for listening.

“In the communication strategy of the company, point to audio content and Branded Entertainment need to differentiate themselves in a market that is increasingly attentive to the authenticity and the emotions. Web series, short films, advergaming, there are many variants and facets of branded entertainment, which is making the podcasts the ideal companion of our daily activities” . This is a Francis Deal , CEO of VOIS , one of the pioneers of podcasting in Italy, which attests to how brands are approaching more and more constantly to Branded Entertainment to differentiate themselves in a market that is increasingly attentive to the authenticity and the emotions.

The objective of Branded Entertainment is not to promote a product, but to pass on its values, to tell about the mission and contribute to the development of the corporate identity, creating a real bond between the consumer and a brand, and improving the perception of the brand, an effect that brings positivity and helps to build and strengthen significant relationships with the target audience.

Among the most recent examples of “ First corners ”, a podcast of storytelling that is created for the MINI brand that intermingles the narrative with stories from the voices of the characters who lived. A new school, the first victory, the first tattoo, the first trip, the first kiss, voices, and stories that excited, because you can tell the fear, the fear related to a new challenge, the first few times that make us alive and human and that make us grow.