The battle for audience attention in the digital space grows more intense every year. Portals, television, streaming services, social networks…everyone is looking for their piece of the pie. Amidst this constant competition, one medium has chosen not to fight among the “big” players but instead build its audience in the shadows – an audience that grows year after year. It’s the podcast, the jazz of media platforms.
It is estimated that in 2025 between 200 and 250 million Europeans regularly listen to podcasts, with the trend continuing to rise. There are no exact figures for Croatia, but leading channels count tens of thousands of followers, with the most popular, Podcast Inkubator, boasting nearly 400,000 subscribers. It’s important to note that most of these listeners are young people – according to last year’s KS&R report, more than a quarter of Gen Z and a third of Millennials listen to podcasts daily.
SoMoCast has two new hosts
SoMoCast has also found its place under the domestic podcast sun, shedding new light on the dynamic world of digital business, media, and marketing. This year marks its fourth season, and until now, the host’s role was held by Nikola Vrdoljak, director and partner at agency 404. This year, he received reinforcements: joining him as co-hosts are Petar Pavić, co-founder of S.T.A.R. Digital Group and head of the digital ADEX working group at the Croatian Association of Digital Publishers (HUDI), and Ivanka Mabić Gagić, executive director of the Croatian branch of Aleph, which is also the main sponsor of SoMo Borac. All episodes of SoMoCast, now airing its fourth season, can be watched at https://somoborac.com/podcast/.
Given all this, one question arises: how did a media format based on pure conversation, lasting an hour or more, manage to thrive in an era dominated by quick news and few-second videos?
We decided to find the answer with the help of the new hosts of SoMoCast.
“Podcast is, realistically, just an interview under a different name – just as an influencer is simply a rebranded ambassador. There’s no real revolution here: two people sit, talk, and record themselves, just like on television 50 years ago. Once via antenna, now via YouTube. The evolution has happened more in perception than in format. People today want to believe they’re getting ‘unfiltered truth,’ but often they’re just getting unfiltered ego. In a sea of instant experts and populists who become authorities ‘overnight,’ audience responsibility becomes just as important as creator authenticity. In general, people should check the background and source of information more carefully. Fortunately, traditional media brands are bringing back credibility in this era of fake and AI-generated content overload. Yet, despite everything, it’s clear that podcasts and similar formats led by individual creator-stars will continue to make up a significant and influential part of the media landscape,” said Petar Pavić.
Two success factors with younger audiences
Podcasts offer something that mainstream media often can’t – authenticity, intimacy, and the freedom for creators and brands to build direct, loyal relationships with their audience. They don’t have to adhere to corporate agendas or mass-market appeal but are typically raw and unfiltered. Creators are free to discuss topics that interest them and connect with their listeners in a sincere way. Moreover, podcasts thrive in niche spaces, offering targeted content to highly engaged and specialized audiences.
Their rise in recent years has been supported by two major factors. The first is the transition to video format, which attracted younger audiences who not only want to hear the host but also see them. A major role in further popularization has also been played by TikTok. Many podcast creators began using the platform to build reach, engagement, and community around long-form content. Increasingly, we see 10-minute clips achieving excellent reach and engagement, debunking the belief that only 60-second videos succeed.
“New technologies have completely redefined the way we consume media content and the expectations audiences have of it. The podcast is perhaps the best example of this shift – a format that grew from an audio niche into a dynamic, multidimensional medium thanks to video, social media, and smart distribution algorithms. TikTok’s influence is particularly interesting, as it changed the habits of younger audiences and opened the door to new ways of promoting long-form content through short, powerful clips. Creators thus gained a tool that allows them to authentically build communities and share ideas through formats that feel natural to them,” said Ivanka Mabić Gagić.
In this context, a podcast is no longer just a conversation – it becomes a media ecosystem that combines intimacy, visual identity, and real-time audience interaction. This transformation shows how deeply intertwined technology and creativity are in the contemporary media landscape, adds Mabić Gagić.
Authenticity above all
Mabić Gagić also discussed this topic with Hajdi Ćenan, co-founder and CEO of deep-tech startup AIRT, who will be a guest on SoMoCast. The interview is available on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts, where you can also find conversations with other prominent figures from the digital scene.
This season of SoMoCast has already featured Matej Lončarić, Chief Digital Officer at CME Adria and president of HUDI; Jan Jilek from DotMetrics; and Iva Kutle Škrlec, Director of Destination Marketing for MEA at Hilton. In the new, fourth season, alongside Hajdi Ćenan, the show will also feature Eoin Carrigan, Lead Industry Manager at Pinterest.
From all this, it can be concluded that podcasts will continue to play an increasingly influential role in shaping how we consume media, as demand for personalized, on-demand content continues to grow. However, to succeed in this, they must remain true to the very principle that made them famous – authenticity. If people start performing for the camera, they risk losing what made the format so powerful over the years.
