Podcasting in France: Key figures

While all eyes are on TikTok, another medium has grown exponentially during 2020... You guessed it: the podcast! You're going to say to me: "You're being kind, but you're not being objective at Calliopé!2nd CSA - Havas Paris study which looks at :

• Native podcast listeners,
• The evolution of their listening practices,
• The effects of confinement.

Whether you're a marketing director, communications manager or Doctor R***... Open your eyes wide, because the results of this survey may surprise you! Follow me, here we go.

THE PODCAST: a medium well on its way to staying with the French

Like "Googler" 10 years ago, the "hashtag" recently, or even "covid19 " (or "la covid19" we won't go into that), podcasts are now a medium known to the majority of French people (93%).

Long considered an ephemeral trend, like Periscope, Vine or Google+... The native podcast seems well on the way to becoming part of French people's dailylives, with 5.3 million people now listening to them on a weekly basis. Native podcasts seem to be catching on!

Thanks who?(No, not Jacquie & Michel!) but rather the two months of confinement(I know it was long) that accelerated its adoption by the general public in 2020, and we can predict that this new confinement is likely to explode the adoption of podcasts in French homes.

What's more, the number of Millennials (aged 25-34) listening to native podcasts is on the rise. What stands out in this new study is the frequency (+67%), regularity and habit of listeners to this neo-media. So much so that it has become natural for this audience to consider listening to more (+52%).

More and more listeners say they've been listening to podcasts for over a year. These same listeners play a key role in the adoption of native podcasts by the French, since we now know that recommendation, and in particular word-of-mouth (37%), is the primary lever of discovery.

Where media such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are still floundering in a pool of generic content that all looks the same and is consumed like Fast Food. Podcasts, on the other hand, are doing just fine. It meets needs:

• Authenticity: not found elsewhere (+10 points)
• Thinking with more advanced content (+7 points)
• Autonomy, compared with other media (+7 points)

Native podcast listeners

Long relegated to the medium of the bobos, of a certain social class or even of a fashion that should pass...The podcast is gaining ground among :

• Students (12%)
• Families with children (59%)
• Executives working in large conurbations.

Coincidence? No, the content speaks to, engages and interests these segments of the French population. Among the topics, ecology stands out (covid19, climate change obliges!).

Native podcasts: the opposite of Ad Fatigue

An ad every 3 stories on Instagram, a cacophony of content on Facebook and pre-roll, in-roll, post-roll ads on Youtube... It's time for user saturation. And here again, native podcasts go against the grain. Indeed, 65% of French people think that the amount of ads in podcasts is "just right".

Better still, this medium is a winner for its level of action. Where Twitter, Instagram and TikTok will help the company generate Awareness... The podcast enables it to

• make you want to buy (25%)
• find out about the product/service (27%)

In the minds of native podcast listeners, a brand present on this medium is automatically considered "more innovative" (35%). A boon for

• Disruptive startups,
• large groups seeking to project an image of innovation,
• NGOs who, as some would say, think "Out of ZE boxeu".

In conclusion, the native podcast is no longer in its infancy. For brands, it's an incredible opportunity to reach a segment of the French population:

• Much less attached to the brand,
• Enclined to boycott,
• Limited attention span.

The study also confirms that podcasts are bucking the general trend in other media:

• The Ad Fatigue phenomenon that's driving Instagram users away
• The infobesity of a medium like Facebook that is becoming unmanageable for our brains
• The authenticity of content seems to have been lost in the race for selfies and influencers of all kinds.

With this new confinement, the podcast is likely to continue to grow in terms of listening time, number of listeners and number of acts. You won't be able to say we didn't warn you...

Avner UZAN