Investigating the effects of host trust, credibility, and authenticity in podcast advertising

Abstract

After decades of catering to niche audiences, podcasting is now recognized as a booming industry with more than 100 million Americans tuning in every month. Moreover, marketers acknowledge that podcast hosts are becoming trusted influencers with loyal communities, offering greater opportunity for consumer engagement and positive brand outcomes. This qualitative study examined open-ended survey responses associated with a 2 × 2 experimental study (N = 330) to investigate the degree to which podcast hosts cultivate trust, credibility, and authenticity with their audiences; as well as how parasocial relationships with podcast hosts ultimately influence listeners’ brand attitudes and behaviors. Insights from this study extend Parasocial Interaction theory to a new and emerging context, as well as help marketers better understand how to engage more effectively with podcast audiences.