Title: Listen as much as you want: the antecedents of the engagement of podcast consumers

Authors: Simoni F. Rohden; Gabriel Tassinari; Carla Freitas Netto

Addresses: IPAM – Instituto Português de Administração e Marketing, Estrada da Correia, 53, 1500-210, Lisboa, Portugal ' Unisinos – Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Av. Unisinos, 950, 93022-750, São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil ' University of Bologna, Via Capo di Lucca, 34, 40126 Bologna, Italy

Abstract: Podcasts are becoming popular with internet users and are used by brands as part of their digital marketing strategy. The aim of the paper is to understand which variables influence the engagement of consumers and result in financial support for podcasts. With a focus group followed by a survey involving 274 Brazilian listeners who financially support podcasts, it was possible to confirm that the benefits perceived by these listeners play a significant role in their engagement with this medium. Feelings of gratitude and connection with the brand also had a positive impact on engagement, therefore confirming the literature and the focus group analysis. Contrary to the literature, however, feelings of indebtedness were not significant in the model. The main contribution of the paper is that it sheds light on why people financially support podcasts, even though the content is available for free.

Keywords: podcasts; engagement; gratitude; brand-self connection; consumers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIMA.2023.128152

International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 2023 Vol.18 No.1, pp.82 - 97

Received: 04 May 2021
Accepted: 23 Sep 2021
Published online: 09 Jan 2023 *

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