A Study of Podcast Advertising

The number of podcast influencers and listeners has increased rapidly, which has brought more attention to podcast advertising (Singh, 2025). While podcast influencers and platform operators can benefit from advertising, there is limited research on how to improve the effectiveness of podcast advertising. To address this research gap, this study aims to examine the issue from the perspective of congruence theory (Osgood & Tannenbaum, 1955). In brief, the research purpose of this study is to explore how the two types of congruence would influence audience's perceived advertising irritation and advertising persuasiveness that in turn affect audience's advertising attitude and purchase intention. This research develops a conceptual model to examine how two types of congruence in podcast advertising content influence audience's advertising attitude and purchase intention, with advertising irritation and advertising persuasiveness as mediating variables. One online questionnaire is used to collect data. A structural equation modeling (SEM) technique with SmartPLS software (Ringle, Wende, & Becker, 2024) is performed to analyze the data of 205 valid respondents. The results indicate that congruence cues in podcast advertising (i.e., congruence between podcasting and podvertising content, and podcaster image and podvertising content) positively influence audience-perceived advertising irritation and persuasiveness. Additionally, both advertising irritation and persuasiveness are confirmed as determinants of audience advertising attitude and purchase intention. The results of this study provide in-depth insights into how podcast advertising affect audience's psychological reactions and behavioural intentions, thereby understanding how to improve the effectiveness of podcast advertising. The results of this study make an academic contribution to the field of online advertising, especially for podcast context, and have practical implications for online marketing practitioners. JEL Codes: M37, L82, D91 Keywords: Podcast, Advertising, Congruence Theory.