Sounds Profitable

Stories covered: The Fully-Produced Podcast Ad: Are we leaving attention on the table?Spotify's Q2 Earnings CallYour favorite TV rewatch podcast is here to stay - but don’t expect any new ones. Quick Hits: Only Be Kind by Tom WebsterThis week, Tom writes about the legacy of Frank Cody and a life philosophy he brought to radio that podcasting would do well to implement: Only be kind.NewsGuard Launches 'Made-For-Advertising' Service In Response To ANA Study by Joe MandeseTo combat the rising issue of made-for-advertising sites siphoning programmatic ads, NewsGuard has introduced the ability to create whitelists of non-MFA sites and blacklists to exclude known MFA content.Audio Amplified: Harnessing the Power of Branded PodcastsThe new white paper from Quill focuses on the utility of branded podcasts as high-value content that resonates with audiences, establishes trust, and positions creators as industry leaders.Veritonic and Acast Partner to Highlight What Success Sounds Like Around the World for Podcast Ads Bought ProgrammaticallyNew research from the two companies compares and contrasts of audio creatives from programmatic campaigns around the world.

Tom Webster reflects on the life of someone important to both him and audio in general, as well as a valuable lesson we can learn from how he thought about life. Written by Tom WebsterEdited by Bryan BarlettaAssembled with Spooler.fmHosted by ART19Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

Stories covered: U.S. podcasters are attracting more international listenersWhy a ‘podcast election’ is unlikelyAd overexposure on CTV hurts streamers as much as brands.Quick Hits: Will Podcast Ad Revenues Double by 2025? Not Without These Five Things by Tom Webster.Podcasts draw devoted audiences, but ad spending lags by Catherine Wolf. The Rumors of Podcasting’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated...Redux by Eric Nuzum. Why Podcast Ad Creative is Pivotal, Now More than Ever by Paul Riismandel. Cracking the Code: Gen Z Engagement through Audio Advertising by Mariam Ahmad

Tom Webster looks at our most recent study, The Podcast Opportunity, and provides five key findings that point the way towards making podcasts a more vital part of ad spending.Credits:Written by Tom WebsterEdited by Bryan BarlettaAssembled with Spooler.fmHosted by ART19Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

Articles covered: Breakdown of FTC Endorsement GuidelinesYouTube Tests Crackdown On Ad BlockersThis LinkedIn article could have been a video podcast.Quick Hits: Spotify hits the 100,000 mark for video podcasts MediaMath Files For Bankruptcy, Owes Hundreds Of Millions.mowPod Supercharges Self-Serve Platform with AI-Powered Ad Copy and Precision Targeting

Articles covered: The Podcast OpportunitySXM Shuts down StitcherFilm and TV have collapsed over the last decade.Quick HitsLong Read- Podcasts, a hot advertising medium by Ruby Derrick ThePodcastHost.com Publishes ‘IndiePod Manifesto’ Off the Back of Independent Podcaster Census DataAcast Unlocks Largest Self-Serve Marketplace of Podcast Influencers For Media Buyers

Discussion on the upcoming release of a new study on podcast advertising. The chapter explores the challenges faced and the need to educate buyers. Emphasizing the importance of honoring podcasting's diversity and history while embracing innovation and integration in ad tech.

Articles covered: Quick Hits:Registration is open for next week’s Sounds Profitable webinar for the upcoming study The Podcast Opportunity: Buyer Perceptions of Podcast Advertising. The presentation is on June 28th at 3p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The new study uncovers the latest thinking from buyers on the current state of podcasts advertising, and the strengths and weaknesses of buying the medium. In a bonus video from this week’s Product Deepdive, Podscibe’s Amelia Coomber demonstrates a new tool in the platform that uses ChatGPT, trained with the GARM framework, to generate a risk assessment for the podcast. The content rating system generates a visualization that shows what content is flagged, an automatic summary of what was said, and timestamps to check out the offending content directly. Streaming Audio and YouTube Measurement now offered in Magellan AI. As of last week, Magellan AI supports the measurement of streaming audio campaigns, as well as podcasts. Advertisers can now confirm impression delivery by channel and measure ad performance through custom KPIs. Magellan also launched the ability to measure YouTube impact. Acast launches new tech integrating publishers’ paywalls with podcast platforms. The tech, dubbed Acast+ Access, will enable paywalled news outlets to produce podcasts that are siloed and only accessible to those who pay for the site’s premium subscription.Ausha Launches Ausha PRO, a new sub-brand dedicated for Branded Podcasts. Ausha PRO includes the features of Ausha with the added benefits of enhanced support, advanced customization of promotional materials, multi-user access for collaborative management, and platform configuration performed in-house by Ausha staff. 

This week, Tom looks at some recent data on popular podcast genres from Pew in light of Spotify parting ways with Meghan and Harry and their podcast Archetypes. What can we learn from the past about the future of celebrity podcasting? Credits:Written by Tom WebsterEdited by Bryan BarlettaAssembled with Spooler.fmHosted by ART19Sounds Profitable: Narrated Articles is a production of Sounds Profitable. For more information, visit soundsprofitable.com.

This week's stories: Podcast listeners well disposed to political ads (Veritonic)Let’s Think about Podcast Consumers, Not Just ListenersCan A Million Ads Simplify Hyperlocal Audio Ads By Creating Even More Of Them?Partner Events: “Demystifying Brand Lift: Measuring How Audio Ad Campaigns Resonate with Listeners.” “How Creative Testing Drives Success in Audio.”“The Podcast Opportunity: Buyer Perceptions of Podcast Advertising”Quick Hits:What AI Will Never be Able to Do That People Can by Scott Klass. With AI discourse focusing on the hypotheticals of replacing on-air talent, SoundStack CMO Klass addresses the need for a human experience in the customer service side of advertising. Is the podcast bubble starting to burst? by Nick Bonyhady. A look at podcasting’s listener growth (and recent lack thereof) in Australia, showing there’s less of a balloon and more of a new normal catching up to the statistical anomaly of the surge in new podcasts spurred by pandemic.Podsights goes free-to-use and rebrands as Spotify Ad Analytics by Reem Makari. Rebranded to Spotify Ad Analytics, the platform offers free pixel tracking and has expanded to more countries. Brand lift studies are still Spotify app only, but are included for free with campaigns that meet a minimum spend and reach threshold. Podscribe Launches Automated Ad Scoring The new tool, powered by ChatGPT, automatically grades the quality of ad reads on a scale of 1 to 10 using criteria like how clearly the product was endorsed, and how personalized the recommendation was.Narrativ Launches Mobile App Open Beta. Generative AI startup Narrativ generates audio versions of news articles and monetizes via audio ads. The mobile app currently hosts content from several collegiate newspapers and will soon incorporate national news and Associated Press articles.