Advertising & Monetization

Advertising in music services, and ad technologies that power it.

Google advances its programmatic audio buying tools

Posted on by Brad Hill

Google has raised its game in programmatic audio. Google’s broad digital advertising platform, Ad Manager, is getting audio programmatic for the first time. Additionally, Google’s DV360 is enhancing its existing tools. DV360 is the abbreviated brand name of Display & Video 360, formerly called DoubleClick. The systems stumbles over RSS feeds, perhaps slowing adoption ion podcasting, though independent distribution platforms like Spotify and Pandora work fine. Continue Reading →

NY Times Q2 earnings: “The Daily” info and strategies

Posted on by Brad Hill

An item in today’s Podnews nudged our attention to the New York Times Q2 earnings statement. As Podnews mentioned, the Times disclosed that its leading podcast effort The Daily (the top news podcast in the U.S., and one of the most successful podcasts across categories) serves 3.5-million downloads per daily episode. We do some back-of-envelope math to estimate annual revenue. Click through for meeting quotes about podcast strategy at the Times. Continue Reading →

“Hidden Brain” podcast moves to Midroll Media for exclusive repping

Posted on by Brad Hill

The Hidden Brain podcast, hosted by Shankar Vedantam, has moved its ad representation exclusively to Midroll Media, the ad sales division of Stitcher. (Stitcher has recently been acquired by SiriusXM, from E.W. Scripps, in a deal which will close by Q3). Alongside this deal, Hidden Brain will be produced independently by Hidden Brain Media, starting October 1. The podcast will continue to be distributed by NPR. It’s a chart success — click through to see its placements.
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Audioboom sees 20% revenue growth in H1; earnings release

Posted on by Brad Hill

Audioboom released information about its finances for the first half of 2020 in a blog post. The document, signed by CEO Stuart Last, contains the main bullet points at the top, followed by interesting discussions of various aspects of the podcast industry, COVID-19, Audioboom’s partnerships, and more finances at the bottom. Revenue increased 20% year-over-year. EBIDTA loss was trimmed. Continue Reading →

Acast launches Virtual Storefront for podcast ad buyers

Posted on by Brad Hill

Acast is announcing the Acast Marketplace Virtual Storefront. It is a self-service campaign planning tool which gives advertisers and agency buyers a way to browse podcasts and their targeting characteristics, before engaging the Acast sales team. The Virtual Storefront gives the buyer more hands-on control than previously. Click through for a screenshot. Continue Reading →

DAX scores exclusive sales for Wondery in Canada

Posted on by Brad Hill

Podcast content network Wondery has appointed DAX as its exclusive advertising partner in Canada, we are learning today. DAX will offer Canadian advertisers spot ads and host-read sponsorship messages. Wondery continues to be enterprisingly international. Although translation is probably not necessary for the Canadian market, wondery has been a pioneer in translating hit shows for non-English speaking audiences in other parts of the world. Continue Reading →

“What was that promo code again?” Spotify testing a universal answer

Posted on by Brad Hill

Spotify, the global audio listening platform which is grabbing chunks of the podcast industry through acquisition, is also applying its customary tech chops to improving advertising effectiveness … while making life a little bit smoother for discount-minded consumers. The prospective feature is called “In-App Offers,” and is basically a link on a podcast’s show page which leads to an advertiser’s discounted offering. Tap through for details. Continue Reading →