Banner blindness is a concept that dates back to 1998. It is a phenomenon according to which when scrolling a web page, we consciously or unconsciously ignore banner like information.

As consumers (and therefore advertisers) shift towards audio consumption, I have the impression we are also developing a sort of advertising deafness. Similar to banner blindness, advertising deafness means that when we are listening to a podcast, music streaming, or even a video, we tune out the promotional messages, as we perceive them as a disturbance.

Considering the serial nature of podcast in particular, and the fact that the audience tends to listen to them regularly, a nice way to overcome advertising deafness would be to take advantage of the potential of this medium. So, instead of running 30 seconds ads, marketers could try to tell episodic stories about their brand, their product, their service, and the way they are impacting the world.

It is lazy and inefficient to use old formats in new media. If you give people something to wait for, something to even long for, they will listen. And your message will have the power it (perhaps) deserves.