Podcast Advertising

Another burgeoning paid advertising tactic is podcast ads, which are turning out to be one of the more effective ad channels. The level of targeting can get very specific – think about advertising an HR tool on an HR-themed podcast – and the loyalty that hosts have among their die-hard subscribers and listeners can make this a borderline influencer campaign.

The landscape is huge and growing by the second, and it’s getting increasingly niche. Similar to OTT, you can reach out to individual podcasts to place ads, or approach this with a third-party provider who will distribute your ads to a network of podcasts based on audience & listenership parameters.

Types of Podcast Ads

Native Ad:
A native ad is created by the brand for the podcast. With this common strategy, you’ll create a short audio clip that discusses your product, service, or another promotion related to your brand. These usually run for 30 seconds or less and sound a lot like audio ads you’d hear on traditional radio stations. These ads usually air as pre-roll or mid-roll ads after a podcast host says something like, “And now, a word from our sponsors.”

Below is an example of an ad for the Toyota RAV4. In the 30-second ad, a narrator describes all the unique features that make the car safe, reliable, and fast. Like the Hendrick’s Gin ad noted above, the ad doesn’t acknowledge a specific podcast so it can be shared on multiple different shows.

Sponsored Content:
With sponsored content or branded podcasts, you pay the podcast production team to create interesting content about a topic related to your industry or the company.

While the content might not discuss your product outright, the podcast hosts will note that your brand sponsored the podcast — and most likely include some information about your product or service. If the podcast is valuable and interesting to the listener, they might remember your brand and affiliate informative content with your company.

One recent example was a mini-series called “The Sauce” in 2018. The podcast, sponsored by McDonald’s — and created by Gizmodo and Onion Labs — investigated why people rioted over the removal of Szechuan Sauce from the McDonald’s menu. While the podcast has since been removed from Apple podcasts, you can find a short preview for it on Gizmodo’s Facebook page.

Paid Interview:
This is a type of sponsored content where an expert from or affiliated with an advertising brand is interviewed in exchange for the sponsorship dollars. While this gives your company’s experts an opportunity to spread brand awareness and show their expertise, it also allows the podcast to create interesting interview content about a topic related to its own mission.

In the example below, Daymond John interviews a rep from ZipRecruiter, on the podcast, “Rise and Grind.” Because the podcast series regularly discussed business, entrepreneurship, and management, this ZipRecruiter-sponsored interview about hiring talent, still feels like a natural piece of content. This paid interview tactic could also work for businesses in other industries as well. For example, if you’re a marketer for a cookbook publisher, you could pay for a chef who created some of a new book’s recipes to get interviewed on a podcast related to cooking, home-making, or DIY.

In another example, if your company sells medical devices, you could pay for your CEO or an executive to be interviewed on a podcast that touches on medical news or technological advances.

In either example, audiences who listen to those podcasts because they want to learn more about topics or products within their industry might hear the interviews, gain insight from the experts, and trust your brand more.

Product Placement:
This is a form of sponsored content where podcasters are paid to mention your product casually in the podcast’s discussion. In a classic example, the “My Brother, My Brother, and Me” podcast aired an episode about Totinos which was sponsored by Totinos.

While the hosts played games and had random discussions about life, as they’ve done in most of their episodes, they were chewing Totino’s pizza rolls most of the time and made each game or featured piece of content center around the food product.

Direct Response Ads
This is a native ad that feels like a product placement where the host reads a short script written by the advertiser. The ad ends with the host telling listeners to do something, such as click a link or use a coupon code. Unlike the more traditional pre-roll or mid-roll native ad, the listener is still immersed in the experience of listening to the host. Although the host notes that their discussion is sponsored, it still might make the listener feel like they are getting a solid recommendation from the host.

On Dax Shepard’s podcast, “The Armchair Expert,” he includes at least one direct response ad in the middle of each episode. At the 65:00 mark of this episode, Shepard reads a script that explains the benefits of using the meal-delivery service DoorDash. Then, he tells listeners to download DoorDash and use the code “DAX” to get $5 off of their first order.

Podcast Advertising Terminology

Before we discuss the ins and outs of podcast advertising, let’s review the terminology you need to know before reaching out to podcast hosts and networks.

• CPM Rate: CPM stands for “cost per mille.” The CPM represents a flat standard rate advertisers pay for every 1,000 impressions.
• Host-Read Ad: a pre-recorded ad that is voiced by the host(s) of the podcast.
• Dynamic Insertion: the use of software to automatically insert ads into pre-existing podcast audio. These ads can be easily changed across a podcast’s entire catalog without making changes to the original audio file.
• Programmatic Ad: pre-recorded advertisements that do not feature the original host of the podcast. Programmatic ads are typically deployed using dynamic insertion.
• Pre-Roll Ad: an ad placed at the beginning of a podcast episode.
• Mid-Roll Ad: an ad placed near the middle of a podcast episode.
• Post-Roll Ad: an ad placed at the end of a podcast episode.
• CTA: Call to action; unique URLs and discount codes are typically included in podcast CTAs to measure the performance of an ad’s effectiveness on a particular podcast.
• Downloads: how many times a podcast episode has been downloaded from a podcast hosting site. The most common metric to determine the impressions/listens of a podcast.
• Live-Read Ad: an ad that is performed live during a podcast episode, as opposed to being scripted and edited or dynamically inserted into the episode.

Tips for Finding and Sponsoring Podcasts

1. Consider podcast demographics.
2. Understand standard podcast ad pricing.
3. Look for podcasts that relate to your brand or industry.
4. Use your competitors for inspiration.
5. Purchase multiple ads for small shows rather than one for big podcasts.
6. Advertise on multiple podcasts within the same network.
7. Be vigilant of dishonest podcasters.
8. Consider purchasing back catalog space.
9. Determine what type of promotion you’d like to run.
10. Purchase ad spots online.
11. Or, reach out personally to podcasts you’d like to work with.
12. Monitor your progress.

How to Advertise on Podcasts

Ready to launch your advertising campaign on relevant podcasts? Here’s what you should consider.

1. Determine the type of ad you want to run.
As we reviewed above in the podcast terminology section, there are a few different types of podcast ads to consider. The right type of podcast ad for you will depend on your budget and the goals of your campaign. Host-read ads tend to cost more than programmatic ads, however, according to Nielsen host-read ads are more effective because hosts have already established trust and recognition with their audiences.

2. Select the best ad placement for your campaign.
Additionally, ad placement and length matter. Though the first few minutes of a podcast reaches the widest audience, pre-roll ads, or ads that play at the beginning of a podcast episode, tend to have a lower CPM rate because users can easily skip over the ad.

On the other hand, mid-roll ad placements tend to have a higher CPM rate because listeners who reach the middle of an episode tend to be more engaged and likely to follow a CTA. In terms of length, 30-second ad placements have an average CPM of $18, while 60-second ad placements have an average CPM of $25.

3. How to write a podcast ad.
Now that you know what type of ad you want to run and have determined the placement, it’s time to tackle the messaging. Whether you are doing host-read or programmatic ads, the on-air talent needs talking points from you to ensure the ad shares information that is relevant to your campaign.

Here are the elements to include when writing a podcast ad script.

• Hook the Listener

Begin with a bold or attention-grabbing statement to get the listener’s attention and reduce the likelihood of them fast-forwarding through the ad.

• Personal Story

Once the audience is hooked on the ad, the on-air talent should introduce the product and share a quick personal story outlining why they enjoy the product. A simple way to do this is to mention what problem they were experiencing, how they were introduced to the product, and the positive results or solutions they experienced after using the product.

• Call to Action

Close the ad by creating a clear call-to-action (CTA) for the listener. A popular CTA used in podcast advertising is special codes and unique URLs specifically for that show. These are easy for the audience to remember because they are typically related to the name of the podcast, and can be easily measured for KPI tracking.

4. How to create a podcast ad.
Once the script has been finalized, share it with the on-air talent so they can record the ad as a standalone mp3 file. During the post-production process, the ad should be placed in the episode audio file during the designated placement time. If using dynamic insertion technology, upload the mp3 file to the podcast hosting software so it can be automatically played during the episode.

Navigating Podcast Sponsorship

The podcast landscape is a pool of growing opportunities for marketers. And, if you’re ready to start testing the sponsorship waters, be sure to keep these key tips in mind.

• Find podcasts that align with your brand: People are listening to an episode to get informed about a specific topic. If your ad aligns well with it, they might be interested in learning more about your product.
• Choose frequency over audience reach: It’s less risky and more efficient to invest in multiple ads on smaller podcasts rather than just one or two ads on a major podcast.
• Consider working with a network: Networks may provide more legitimate view numbers and have a variety of podcasts with similar audiences that you can air your ads on.

IN SUMMARY: Podcast advertising is a newer paid ad opportunity that provides exciting topic- and audience-based targeting opportunities.

It’s typically a flat-fee model driven by listenership (impressions), but the possibility for action-based pricing can come in the form of partner opportunities.