Westwood One podcast ad survey: Dynamic insertion, attribution, and a tipping point

Westwood One shared results from a survey of podcast sellers, asking them about the current state of the market and infrastructure. The results provide a counterpoint to a survey of advertisers and agencies released last month. Both surveys revealed a spectrum of marks for existing podcast measurement tools.

Part of the survey focused on attribution, the ad-tech science of determining ad effectiveness measured in listener behavior driven by the ad. Eighty-one percent percent of podcast ad buyers said that the current state of podcast measurement and attribution is Fair, Good, or Excellent, while i9% called it Poor. The sell-side curve is similar (see chart below):

The sellers suggested that monthly reach of 45% would be needed for agencies to “attain meaningful advertising investment.” The agencies and buyers put the goal monthly reach at 44%. many observers and participants in the podcast business ecosystem see brand advertisers, and their big budgets, as one key to building podcasts into a major media category.

Respondents were asked what it would take for podcasting to reach $2 billion in advertising revenue, and most of their answers centered on tools for measurement and attribution. Other answers included improvements in discovery and search as well as larger scale efforts for content.

Anna Washenko