Why is Digital Audio Content on the Rise?

In Turkey, digital media consumption is evolving every year to become more mobile, more personal, and more content-focused. The presence of approximately 77.3 million internet users in Turkey by 2025 accelerates the integration of audio content into daily life. Podcasts and digital radios have firmly established themselves in user habits due to their ability to be consumed while driving, at home, at work, or on the move.

This transformation is turning audio platforms into a strategic media buying space rather than just an alternative channel. The measurement of the podcast market in Turkey at around approximately 185 million USD in 2023 shows that advertisers' interest in this area is steadily increasing.

Transition from Terrestrial Radio to Digital Radio: The Era of Measurability

Although radio still has a strong reach, listening habits are undergoing a significant transformation. According to industry reports and measurement studies, one in three people in Turkey listens to the radio through digital platforms!

Even more striking is the data:
While the frequency coverage of terrestrial radio is close to 100%, approximately 40% of radio listeners consume the radio solely through digital platforms. This indicates that brands progressing solely with terrestrial broadcast are losing a significant portion of their potential audience on the digital side.

Key Insight
Even if access increases on terrestrial radio, brands that do not exist in digital cannot reach 40% of listeners.

Why is Digital Radio More Advantageous?

Despite the reach power of terrestrial radio, the biggest difference on the digital radio side is the advantage of measurability and targeting. Digital platforms offer brands the following opportunities:

• Age and gender segmentation, device targeting

• City, district, and location-based targeting

• Listening time and replay measurement

• Campaign-based reporting and optimization

Thus, digital radio becomes a medium that is not only “heard” but also measured, optimized, and reportable.

Podcast Purchase Models and Brand Opportunities

The prominent purchasing models on the podcast side are as follows:

• Presenter - Presentation Models: The presenter delivers the brand message in their own language, provided by brand X, presented by brand X, etc.

• Native Spots: Spots that are compatible with the content, creating a low ad perception, with a language, tone, and duration that match the content 

• Branded Podcasts: Content series specific to the brand

• In-Program Integrations: Natural brand usage within the content flow

"At this point, let me share an experience I've had with brand X…"

Media Planning Perspective: KPIs and Challenges

To accurately measure success in podcast and digital radio investments, the KPI set must be correctly defined. In this area, not only access but also;

• Listening duration

• Engagement

• Brand recall

metrics become prominent. Although standardization on the measurement side is still in the development stage, digital audio platforms are becoming an area that offers increasingly clearer results in media planning.

Audio Media, A Permanent Part of the Media Mix

By 2025, podcasts and digital radio will not be experimental; they should be planned as strategic parts of the media mix. The measurability and targeting advantages offered by digital radio elevate this field to a more strategic point compared to terrestrial radio.

For this reason, recently, agencies have been recommending that brands structure their terrestrial radio plans in parallel with their digital radio investments. Supporting the access gained in terrestrial with digital ensures that the loss of listeners in audio media investments is prevented.