Mattresses and Metrics by Tom Webster
While looking at Podscribe’s Performance Benchmarks report for Q2, a particular section stuck in Webster’s head: pixel attribution captures 7x more conversions than post purchase surveys, and 4.6x more conversions than promo codes.
“Two things immediately come to mind here, and they aren’t mutually exclusive: one, more campaigns should be using pixel attribution, and two, we need to get more ambitious about our data if we are ever going to give podcasting the credit it deserves in driving a transaction.”
Tom reflects on how he and his wife recently purchased a Saatva mattress. He’s sure he’d heard of the brand before he heard a podcast ad for them, and he gets retargeted Saatva ads regularly in the mix of mattress ads he’s been regularly issued after an errant click on Facebook. There’s even a Saatva showroom he often walks by, noting for some brands a retail location is as much an advertising benefit as it is a point-of-sale.
If one could have attached a tracking pixel to every engagement he had with the brand, there likely would have been 7 to 8 channels that connected with him. The issue is all of them are either weighted equally, or heavily biased to the one just before his purchase. But the most intimate time he spent with the brand, the interaction he most attributes to sparking his interest in doing the research that led to an actual purchase, was Saatva’s ads on Ologies with Alie Ward.
Pixels are great at what they do, but podcasting needs to branch out its data so pixels can be more properly interpreted in the larger story of a purchase journey.
Wondercraft’s Oskar Serrander on Convo Mode
Last week Wondercraft launched a new feature called Convo Mode, in which a producer can upload a script they’ve written to Wondercraft Studio, which then uses generative AI to synthesize voices for a podcast-style conversation. Bryan Barletta sent Wondercraft founder Oskar Serrander some questions about Convo Mode and what it can do. In response, Serrander generated an audiogram Convo Mode voices “Georgia” and “Avery” break down how the tool works, and how it aims to speed up the creative-making process so audio advertising can appeal to brands that are used to the faster turnaround times of other industries.
YouTube Isn’t Dominating Podcasting by Paul Riismandel
Working in the world of podcast research, Riismandel reads a lot of news and is going to a lot of events, both of which are heavily pushing an exaggerated view of YouTube’s place in the world of podcasting. It is an important platform for discovery and passively a huge platform independent of podcasting, but data like Signal Hill Insights and Cumulus Media’s upcoming Spring Download find 61% of podcast consumers use a platform other than YouTube most often. The Podcast Landscape 2024 found only 26% of monthly podcast listeners say they use just one app or service for podcasts, so even those that use a platform like YouTube are not likely to be monogamous to it. I briefly talked to Tom Webster this morning about this piece and I think it wraps this all up in a bow: “This is a great reminder that YouTube might be the top of the funnel way people discover podcasts, but audio remains the dominant medium.”
Amazon Adds Private Auctions to Prime Video, Trading Cost for Guarantees by Mark Stenberg
In the past few weeks some Amazon buyers have been given access to the testing phase of private auction deals, allowing them to buy Prime Video inventory on a dynamic cost basis, rather than fixed CPM. All of which leads to lower-cost campaigns, but also few guarantees. The flexibility and cost-savings of running PA campaigns could be of particular interest to smaller and performance-driven companies. The big tradeoff, besides no guaranteed delivery, is PA are also at the bottom of the waterfall. So during high-demand periods it’s likely PA deals will struggle to be delivered. Still, variable pricing joins connected TV in the future of advertising that podcasting is competing with.
Apple’s announcements include more for podcasting by James Cridland
The annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) had a fair few new Apple announcements, and Podnews has rounded up all the ones impacting podcasting. Similar to existing speech volume-adjustment features in third-party apps like Overcast and Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts will have an “enhance dialog” option to boost voices over background noise. More playback speed options are being rolled out, as well as the app saving which speed you prefer on a per-show basis.
Finally, it’s time for our Quick Hits. These are articles that didn’t quite make the cut for today’s episode, but are still worth including in your weekend reading. This week:
- True Native Media is hosting a webinar on July 9th titled Audio-First Success: Why Not Every Podcast Needs Video (and Why Advertisers Shouldn’t Worry). In attendance will be founder Heather Osgood, Sounds Profitable’s Bryan Barletta, and Acast Creative Studios VP Emily Rudder.
- Mondo Metrics has announced a strategic partnership with Precise.ai. An announcement that includes the introduction of MondoAQ, a solution that combines first-part data collaboration with contextual and behavioral intelligence.
- The Publish Press takes a look at the Creators’ Caucus, a bipartisan project bringing several popular YouTubers and Twitch streamers together to meet with lawmakers to educate them on the needs of small business content creators and influence relevant legislation.
- The Davey Awards and The Podglomerate have teamed up to publish a new report titled Video Podcasts Decoded: A Guide for Small Shows, featuring experts giving tips on incorporating video into audio-first podcast production.
- Acast has published a case study covering a branded video podcast produced to boost brand awareness of the EuroMillions transnational lottery.
- Ausha has a new article detailing how they teamed up with BBC Studios to use a focused podcast search optimization strategy to fast-track The Infinite Monkey Cage up podcasting charts in under two months.
